Tourists stranded as taxis go off road in Goa
PANAJI: Thousands of tourists were stranded in Goa on Monday, after tourist taxis went off the roads for a day to protest against the entry of a private radio taxi operation here. Over 7,000 tourist taxis associated with two major taxi unions – North Goa Tourist Taxi Owners Association (NGTTOA) and the All Goa Tourist Taxi Association – stayed off roads on Monday. “We are protesting against the entry of a big private company operated fleet of cars called Ola Cabs in Goa,” NGTTOA general secretary Vinayak Nanoskar said. Nanoskar said the strike was also to protest against the government’s inaction against illegally operated taxi services in the state. Ruling BJP legislator Michael Lobo has also termed taxi operators’ demands “genuine” and extended his support to the strike. The strike has spelled bad news for passengers landing in Goa at airport, railway station and bus terminuses, especially because of the poor public transport network in Goa. “I am stranded here for over two hours and the yellow and black taxis are charging more than 200 per cent of the original fare,” said Robert Bradford, who arrived here from Mumbai by an overnight bus. At the Dabolim international airport, Ramesh Jain was stranded for over an hour after he landed from Delhi. “This is disgraceful at a tourist destination,” he said, before finally opting for a bus ride to his destination. With their count at 7,000, tourist taxis easily outnumber the 2,000 odd yellow and black cabs in Goa. (IANS)
HC grants one month parole to Priyadarshini Mattoo’s killer
New Delhi: Delhi High Court on MOnday granted one month parole to Santosh Kumar Singh, undergoing life sentence in the Priyadarshini Mattoo rape and murder case, so that he can submit his dissertation that is required under his three-year LLM course. Justice Mukta Gupta refused to grant parole for three months as sought by Singh, saying as per Annamalai University, from where he is doing the course under its distance education programme, two weeks to one month time is sufficient to submit the dissertation.The court said he will be granted parole on submitting a personal bond of Rs 25,000 before the court concerned. Singh, who is in the third-year of the course, had sought three months’ parole, saying he needs to identify a supervisor before writing his dissertation and also attend personal contact programmes on March 7 and 8. The court, however, refused saying, “It can’t be three months. Of course not.” The high court had granted him parole in May last year for 13 days for writing his second-year exams. He had been granted parole in 2012 for his first year exams. Singh, a law student in Delhi University, had raped and murdered Mattoo, a third-year law student, in January 1996. He was acquitted by the trial court on December 3, 1999, but the Delhi High Court had on October 27, 2006 reversed that decision, holding him guilty of rape and murder. (PTI)
Prominent Dalit leader joins BJP
New Delhi: Prominent Dalit leader Udit Raj on MOnday joined BJP which said it believed in inclusive growth and the welfare of the last man in the queue and accused Congress of causing disparity in the society during its rule. Welcoming Raj in the party-fold, BJP president Rajnath Singh said India cannot be a powerful country if a community continued to remain backward and marginalised. SCs, he alleged, have not received any benefits during the 10 years rule of Congress and claimed his party has been trying a lot to promote them. BJP recently sent three Dalit leaders to Rajya Sabha, he said to make his point. Raj may contest next Lok Sabha election, sources said. A former IRS officer who has in past organized Hindu groups with his activism including holding of mass-conversions, Raj charged the interest of Dalits has been adversely affected during Congress rule and claimed BJP is more sympathetic to their cause. He also hit out at BSP supremo Mayawati, who enjoys considerable supports among Dalits, alleging her party benefited from the vote of SCs but did little to ensure their welfare. Arvind Kejriwal of AAP was also attacked by Raj. Kejriwal, he said, was his junior in Indian Revenue Service and did “nothing noteworthy” in Income Tax department and “is now indulging in politics of propaganda and lies”. (PTI)