Opinion December 7, 1981, Forty Years Ago: Ahmedabad fire
At least 60 persons were burnt to death in a blaze that gutted a jute and wooden replica of the Himalayas set up for a religious exhibition outside the Neelkantha Mahadev temple in the labour suburb of Asarwa.
According to police sources, the victims include 14 women, 17 men and 14 children. 
At least 60 persons were burnt to death in a blaze that gutted a jute and wooden replica of the Himalayas set up for a religious exhibition outside the Neelkantha Mahadev temple in the labour suburb of Asarwa. According to police sources, the victims include 14 women, 17 men and 14 children. The blaze, believed to have been caused by a short circuit, trapped nearly 200 people inside the exhibition and reduced to ashes the entire 60-ft high structure in less than seven minutes. Chief Minister Madhavsinh Solanki and Home Minister Prabodh Raval visited the site. The state government has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the fire, the worst witnessed in the city.
BJP plans protest
The Bharatiya Janata Party will soon launch a crusade against corruption to expose the misdeeds of the party at the Centre and states. The BJP president, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, told reporters that they would seek the cooperation of other political parties, non-political organisations, academics and intellectuals in this “unremitting war”. In its resolution on corruption, the BJP national executive demanded immediate legislation to create the institution of Lokayukta to deal with corrupt politicians and officials.
Attack on Imphal
The Imphal station of AIR and two police parties were attacked by a gang of extremists on the night of December 4. A woman was killed by a stray bullet near the AIR station. The extremists hurled three grenades at the police station, two of which exploded.
Punjabis in PLO
About 150 young men from Punjab were working in the PLO. The Union government stumbled on this information while trying to investigate whether extremists in Punjab had foreign connections.
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