Karnataka apprises Centre of flood losses, seeks aid
New Delhi, Aug 30 : Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Thursday apprised Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh of the losses due to floods in parts of the state and sought central financial assistance of Rs 1,118 crore.
Kumaraswamy said that the southern state had suffered losses totalling Rs 3,425 crore on account of damaged crops and infrastructure, and cattle deaths.
"We have submitted a memorandum to the Home Minister on the losses," Kumaraswamy told reporters here.
Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara said that a final memorandum will be submitted to the Centre after a comprehensive assessment of the losses.
Karnataka has sought financial assistance of Rs 1,118 crore from the central government as per the norms of the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF).
Its memorandum said that crops on about 23,123 hectares of land were damaged, leading to estimated losses of Rs 313.52 crore. Damage to infrastructure accounted for Rs 1,746 crore loss.
The production of coffee in Karnataka will fall by 20 per cent this year due to floods, which will cause a further loss of Rs 100 crore, it said.
Coastal and other districts of Karnataka had received heavy rains around mid-August, following which a flood alert was sounded in the southern state. The affected districts included coastal Udupi, Dakshina Kannada, Uttara Kannada, and south interior districts of Kodagu, Chikkamagaluru, Hassan and Shivamogga.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
