Rift as 42 MLAs want Sira to house second Bengaluru airport: Report
Bengaluru: Forty-two lawmakers cutting across party lines have reportedly signed a petition urging Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to set up Bengaluru’s second international airport at Sira in Tumakuru, about 120 km from the capital city. The campaign, led by senior Congress leader TB Jayachandra, challenges the locations selected by his own government.
The state government has shortlisted three locations for the second airport: two on Kanakapura Road near Harohalli and one on Kunigal Road in Nelamangala. However, Jayachandra, the Sira MLA, argued that the city’s expanding population and future needs make Sira the ideal choice, as reported by Deccan Herald on Tuesday.
Confirming the backing of 42 MLAs for the petition, he emphasised the long-term strategic benefits of selecting Sira over the other sites, pointed out that Sira is close to HAL's helicopter factory and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) facility at Challakere in neighbouring Chitradurga.
"The locations selected now don’t have water. In Sira, there's water from the Hemavathi river, the Bhadra river and the Yettinahole project," DH quoted Jayachandra, Karnataka’s special representative in New Delhi, as saying. He also cited the availability of 6,000 acres of land in Sira, which he believes is ideal for setting up an international airport.
However, Industries and Infrastructure Development Minister MB Patil has expressed strong opposition to the idea, noting that Sira is not a viable location for an international airport
"We're talking about a second international airport for Bengaluru, not a district airport," Patil remarked. He added that they want to propose a district airport for the Tumakuru-Sira-Chitradurga region.
Patil also raised questions about the location’s practicality for potential investors. “If Home Minister G Parameshwara and I, as residents of Sadashivanagar, wanted to fly to New Delhi, would we go to Sira?” Patil questioned, stressing that potential investors like the Ambanis, Bengaluru International Airport Ltd (BIAL), or the Tatas would carefully assess the economic feasibility of building an airport in the region.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
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.
