PANAJI: According to citizen activists from the Goa Progress Forum (GPF) who spoke to this reporter, more than 300 clubs and restaurants in North Goa do not have the required permissions, with some of them being out and out illegal.
Bernard D’Costa, a citizen activist of the Goa Progress Forum and his team, who have been collating data from various local bodies as well as from other activists in the various localities of North Goa, post the deadly fire incident, said there are about 30 to 40 clubs and restaurants in the North Goa belt which are completely illegal, while the other 260-odd outlets are partially illegal and do not have all the requisite NOCs or permissions.
“The government should conduct an audit. Let the results be in the public domain. Just like candidates filing their papers and affidavits for any election, all the details of such public spots, including restaurants, bars, clubs, discotheques and other watering holes should be made available in public domain,” D’Costa said.
BJP Calangute MLA Michael Lobo in the first week of December, last year, after the deadly fire at the Romeo Lane club at Arpora claimed 25 lives, called for a safety audit of all clubs in Goa. He has also called for reforms and additional club licensing procedures. According to him, the village panchayats do not have the authority to license or regulate clubs. This part should be handled by the Home Department of the State Government.
The former Arpora sarpanch Roshan Redkar and panchayat secretary Raghuvir Bagkar, who were primarily responsible for providing the NOCs and permissions for the structure, are currently absconding and untraceable. Police teams are searching for both accused and have been deployed in and around their residences to trace them. Sources said the mobile phones of both Redkar and Bagkar are switched off, and police are maintaining round-the-clock surveillance in the area. Another source claimed Redkar is in Mumbai, while Bagkar has fled to Karnataka.
Redkar and Bagkar had moved the district sessions court seeking anticipatory bail. Terming the matter as very serious, the court rejected their anticipatory bail applications, clearing the way for the police to proceed with their arrest. The duo have apparently approached the Bombay High Court.
The Goa government dismissed the secretary of Arpora-Nagoa panchayat, Raghuvir Bagkar, on charges of gross negligence and deliberate disregard of statutory and regulatory provisions while discharging his official responsibilities. The Directorate of Panchayats also disqualified and dismissed Arpora-Nagoa sarpanch Roshan Redkar and barred him from contesting panchayat elections for five years.
D’Costa said this is a wake-up call for all the Sarpanches and Panchayat Secretaries in Goa. The government should conduct an audit of all the restaurants, clubs, pubs and discotheques. Many of them are Romeo Lane’s in the making, he quipped.
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