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Three days later search still on for the missing on the Brahmaputra
Sailing without proper permits or safety equipment, the ferries pose a death threat to daily passengers every day
Ratnadip Choudhury
Guwahati
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Rahul Gandhi and others coming down from the chopper
Bablu Rehman
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Rahul Gandhi with Assam's CM Tarun Gogoi
Bablu Rehman
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An over crowded boat on the Madartray ghat in Dhubri where the mishap took palce
Bablu Rehman
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Paramilitary rescuers comes back after the rescue operation
UB Photos
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Drowned boat brought to the riverbank
UB Photos
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Onlooker on the riverbank as the rescue boats come back
UB Photos
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The regular ferry service goes uninterrupted even after an accident of this stature
UB Photos
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The wrecked ship lies on the river bank
UB Photos
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Seventy two hours after the boat mishap in lower Assam’s Dhubri district, India is grappling with rescue efforts and is depending on neighbouring Bangladesh for a bail out. Reports say 250 persons are yet to be traced, and the strong current of the Brahmaputra may been carried them downstream into the neighbouring country.
Medartary, the site of the incident, is only 15 km from the riverine Indo-Bangladesh border where the BSF and BDR are conducting search operations for the remaining victims.
“Both the sides had a series of flag meetings and a framework for search operations has been chalked out. We are trying to retrieve bodies that may have been carried away due to the rapid currents of the Brahmaputra. Bangladesh has once again assured us help in the search operations,” said the Kumud Chandra Kalita, Deputy Commissioner of Dhubri.
The divers on Wednesday recovered three more bodies, taking the death count to 112. "We can confirm that only 25 bodies have been recovered till now and around 45 people have been registered as missing, but we fear the toll might increase. Hence, we are continuing the search operation, which is taking time due to rough weather and strong current of the river,” said Pradip Saloi, Superintendent of Police, Dhubri.
Meanwhile in Assam, where inland water transport through Brahmaputra and its tributaries is a lifeline for thousands, over aged boats still ply overcrowded not only with people, but also vehicles and animals. According to sources, the preliminary investigations have found that the ill fated ferry that capsized on 30 April was carrying nearly 400 people and was operating without a proper permit since 1994. There are about 6,000 illegal boasts operating in Assam, sources added.
“No one checks our permits; we also never bother to renew them. This has been going on for years, and accidents are all about luck. We do not operate when the weather is bad,” says Jisan Ali, a boatman at Fancy Bazar ghat who ferries passengers every day from south to north Guwahati. In Guwahati, boats run without life jackets or tubes, engines are not checked for fitness, and there is blatant violation of rules on the river highways of Assam.
“We have ordered the inland waterways department to maintain a strong vigil, we will soon launch a crackdown against illegal boats,” assures Assam Transport Minister Chandan Brahma. But locals allege that a mafia syndicate has control over the private boat operating services across Assam.
Upper Assam, a cluster of islands on Brahmaputra including Majuli in Jorhat district, is connected to mainland Assam through ferry service. “Every day I come to main city of Guwahati from northern part by boat. The boats do not have any safety measures, but we have no other means. The government is not bothered about our life,” says Rashmita Kalita, a college student from Amingaon, Guwahati.
Rahul Gandhi's balm for members' of families
The AICC general secretary visited Medartary on Wednesday to take stock of situation, locals miffed with 'sloppy' rescue efforts
Ratnadip Choudhury
Guwahati
Even as the divers from NDRF and BSF toiled the whole of Wednesday to fish out missing passengers of the ferry mishap that took place in Assam’s Dhubri district on Monday evening, AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday visited the accident site at Medartary and spoke to the family members of the victims.
Gandhi's surprise visit sent the administration into a tizzy since the administration had been grappling with the rescue operations and locals started to protest against what they call ‘sloppy’ rescue work.
An overcrowded ferry carrying nearly 400 people capsized in the Brahmaputra after losing control in a storm on Monday evening. An unofficial source says that nearly 110 people have died in the mishap; around 200 are still missing, feared to be dead.
Gandhi reached Medartary at around 3 PM in a chopper and remained at the site for nearly half an hour. He spoke to the family members of the victims and assured all help but avoided the huge media contingent.
Meanwhile the effort put in by the rescue workers has left the locals unhappy. Locals fear that some bodies may have been washed downstream to neighbouring Bangladesh.
Toll rises in Assam’s worst boat mishap 50 bodies found, more than 200 feared dead
India seeks Bangladesh help in search and rescue operations. Area MP announces Rs two crore aid and MLAs donate a month’s salary to help victims
Ratnadip Choudhury
Guwahati
Assam is reeling under shock of the tragedy that struck the state when an overcrowded motor boat carrying more than 350 people capsized in the Brahmaputra river. The incident occurred around 5.30 pm on Monday 30 April in lower Assam’s Dhubri district close to the International riverine border between India and Bangladesh. The boat was caught in a massive storm while it was on its way from Dhubri Kachari ghat to Medartary ghat of Fakirganj on the southern bank. Till now nearly 50 bodies have been recovered, 80 passengers have been rescued alive while more than 230 are still missing.
“We fear that more than 100 people might have died, rescue operations are on but the weather is still inclement and the river’s rapid current is making the task difficult. Tuesday’s rescue operation were low, but we will continue,” said Dhubi deputy commissioner Kumud Chandra Kalita. The district administration is being assisted by the Army, BSF, and NDRF in the rescue operation.
There were around 400 people on the boat, more than double its carrying capacity. “It was the last boat available so the boatmen were taking everyone as it was good business. We were travelling to Hatsinghimari, which takes about three hours. After 5pm, the weather became very bad, the boatmen were not able to control the boat when the storm broke. We requested them to ground the boat on a char (Sand bar) but they said the boat does not have floodlights and instead increased the speed, recalled Tayeb Ali (35), who jumped from the boat and swam to the bank.
The boat hit the bolder spur built to check erosion near the Medartary ghat and broke into three pieces. Locals allege that the boat did not have any life jacket or even floating tubes, a mandatory feature on any boat as per the Assam Government‘s rule. “In lower Assam people risk their life everyday to cross the Brahmaputra river on these poorly maintained boats. The government has no monitoring mechanism, so rules are not followed. There is no status check on the health and safety of the boats. This accident may have happened due to a storm but the entire inland water transport system in Assam has no monitoring,” said Maulana Badruddin Ajmal the Member of Parliament who represents Dhubi. Ajmal has announced Rs two crore as immediate relief from his MPLAD scheme to help the bereaved families. The MLAs from Ajmal’s party All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) have also decided to donate a month’s salary to help the victims of the Assam’s worst boat mishap.
Almost 40 bodies and about 70 survivors were brought out of the river on Monday evening before the official rescue parties reached the spot early on Tuesday morning. “Every year a boat mishap takes place here in Dhurbi, we have been demanding for a bridge across the river but the government does not heed. The boats are overloaded and poorly maintained, but people have no option, they need to reach Dhurbi town for work and studies” says Rashid Siddique a local youth who has been volunteering involved in the rescue operation.
With fingers pointing at the state government Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has ordered a probe and issued alerts across the state on inland water transport. “The incident is unfortunate, but we will make sure that a proper monitoring mechanism is in place. I know that there are some short falls but we will rectify it and bring in proper weather monitoring systems at the boat service stations across the state , the health of the boats operating will also be checked,” the CM told the media in Guwahati. However, even in state capital Guwahati, the passenger boats plying from one bank to another barely have a safety mechanism.
Meanwhile, the state government has declared Rs two lakh as ex-gratia payment for the next-of-kin of deceased, from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund along with of Rs 1.5 lakh from state funds and 50,000 for those admitted in the hospital.
The prime concern of the rescue operation is to find out if most of passengers who are missing and feared dead have gone downstream towards Bangladesh. “New Delhi has already informed Dhaka, and Bangladesh have also launched search operation on its side of the riverine border. The BSF is coordinating with BGB,” added CM Gogoi informed. Assam’s Inland Water Transport minister, Chandan Brahma is leading the search operation at Dhurbi. The Indian Army has also pressed two helicopter to carry out arial rescue while BSF divers have launched search operation along the international border.
Ratnadip Choudhury is a Principal Correspondent with Tehelka.
ratnadip@tehelka.com
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