Major marketplaces in Gujarat’s Rajkot city had appeared empty and various other businesses remained closed on Tuesday as a bandh was declared to mark one month of the fire tragedy at a game zone which claimed at least 27 lives.
Schools, universities, teaching facilities, marketplaces for gold and jewellery, and other businesses closed in support of the opposition Congress’s ‘Rajkot bandh’.
A number of business associations declared that they would close for the day in support of the Congress’ call for a bandh.
Earlier, Gujarat Congress president Shaktisinh Gohil urged shopkeepers and owners of other establishments in Rajkot city to keep their premises closed for half a day in memory of the deceased. This morning, the Congress activists were found attempting to close some of the schools that remained open.
“I urge all residents of Rajkot city to observe a half-day ‘bandh’ on June 25 (Tuesday) to remember those who lost their lives in the fire tragedy on May 25. We are giving this bandh call so that the government ensures justice. We have also urged the management of schools and colleges to join the bandh,” said Gohil yesterday.
As part of the security measures to prevent any untoward incident, police officers were stationed across the city and inspections were increased.
In many Rajkot areas, state party president Gohil, Congress MLA Jignesh Mevani, and other local politicians turned out to express gratitude to shop owners for their assistance in making the bandh “successful”.
The Congress gave the call for a half-day bandh on Tuesday, to remember those who lost their lives in the fire tragedy at the TRP game zone in Rajkot on May 25 and to demand higher compensation to the kin of the deceased.
It has also called on the Special Investigation Team (SIT), set up by the state government, to conduct a fair investigation into the tragedy and to provide justice to the family members of the deceased.
Additionally, the victims’ families had called for the bandh. Using a video conference on June 22, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi spoke with relatives of some of the victims of the fire disaster.
The huge fire that devastated the gaming zone on May 25 claimed the lives of 27 people, including children.
The SIT, which is led by the Additional Director General of Police Subhash Trivedi, was established to investigate the fire’s origins, identify systemic flaws, and recommend actions to be carried out to prevent such incidents in the future.
Five owners of the gaming zone and a few high-ranking Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) officials are among the 15 individuals who have been detained so far in relation to the fire disaster.
The game zone was operating without a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the RMC’s fire department, according to a police investigation. Congress workers had organised a demonstration outside the office of the city’s police commissioner on June 15.
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