Indonesia inaugurates 'Little India Gate' in Medan city
Singapore, Oct 28: Nearly 7,000 people gathered in Northern Indonesia Sunday to witness the inauguration of 'Little India Gate', the first-of-its-kind structure in the country which recognises the contribution of Indian community in the development of Medan city.
The new structure was inaugurated jointly by India's ambassador to Indonesia and Timor Leste Pradeep Kumar Rawat and Mayor of Medan H T Dzulmi Eldin S at Kampung Madras or Madras Village area in Medan city, the fourth largest city in the country.
About 7,000 people witnessed the historic moment with great enthusiasm, the Indian embassy in Jakarta said in a statement.
Ambassador Rawat said it was a true representation of what Indonesia stood for, which is 'Bhinneka Tunggal Ika' or Unity in Diversity and of the Indian belief in 'Vasudev Kutubakam', meaning the world is one family.
Rawat assured the Mayor that the Indian embassy in Jakarta and the Indian Consulate in Medan would assist in promoting 'Little India Gate' as an important tourist destination in Medan, especially for Indian tourists.
"Little India could also become a bridge between the two countries in terms of trade and commercial relations," he said in a statement.
The Mayor in his speech said the new structure will be promoted as an iconic tourist spot in Medan city as it is the first such structure in entire Indonesia.
The gate also represents the immense potential in the Indian community and a recognition of their contribution in the development of Medan city, Dzulmi said.
Kampung Madras area is one of the city's significant ethnic enclaves comprising a large population of people of Indian descent whose ancestors had settled down in Medan in mid-nineteenth century.
Every year, Kampung Madras becomes a meeting point for Hindu and Tamil festivals such as Thaipusam or the Tamil New Year, Pongal and Diwali.
Not only is it home to one of the oldest Hindu temples of North Sumatra Sri Mariamman Koil, but it also houses mosques belonging to the South Indian Muslim community, churches including an Indian Catholic church that dates back to 1912, a Gurdwara and a Buddhist temple, the statement said.
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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.
