Deepak, Nitin most expensive at PKL auctions
Mumbai, May 30: Iranian defender Fazel Atrachali's joy of being the costliest buy in Pro Kabaddi League's (PKL) history was shortlived as Deepak Niwas Hooda and Nitin Tomar went to Jaipur Pink Panthers and Puneri Paltan respectively for identical sums of Rs 1.15 crore.
Deepak sparked a bidding war between the various franchises. Haryana Steelers and Dabang Delhi fought a close fight to secure his services. However, it were the Panthers who came out victorious to bag the 23-year-old.
Earlier in the day, Atrachali had become the costliest buy in the history of the tournament after being pocketed by U Mumba for a whopping 1 crore in the foreign player auctions.
Meanwhile, defender Ran Singh and Srikant Tewatia were bagged by Pink Panthers and Bengal Warriors for Rs 43 lakh and Rs 25 lakh respectively.
However, the franchises showed meagre interest in Manjeet Chillar, who was one of the most expensive buys at last year's auctions. Tamil Thalaivas took home the defender for a mere Rs 20 lakh.
Patna Pirates paid Rs 21 lakh for all-rounder Kuldeep Singh while Pink Panthers once again spent Rs 58 lakh for Mohit Chillar.
Surinder Nada, meanwhile, also emerged as one of the most expensive players as Haryana Steelers had to spend Rs 75 lakh for keeping the all-rounder in their squad.
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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.
