Two major boat tragedies in a span of six months in the State have set alarm bells ringing.
The shocking incident at Pavitra Sangamam near here in November last year brought to the fore the brazen violation of the rules by boat operators. Nothing was right with the operator of the private boat which took an excess load of people who were clueless about the tragedy in the making.
Travelling from Bhavani Island to Pavitra Sangamam near Ferry, the operator’s greed came into play as he stacked the boat with tourists eager to witness the evening harathi.
Reacting strongly to the tragedy, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had said the driver was not experienced and had no knowledge of the river route.
Sources said a tourism wing boat was stranded in the middle of River Krishna a few weeks back. There was panic among those on board but the authorities managed to bring everyone to safety in a while.
There are also indications that not all the boats operated by the AP Tourism wing have fitness certificates. Port officials, who are now the regulatory authorities, merely said that some of the boats have been given certificates while others had to be given.
Director of the Department of Tourism Himanshu Shukla, said the tourism wing had applied for fresh permissions. “We need to adhere to a different set of guidelines now,” he said, adding that the tourism wing had purchased new boats which would operate only after fulfilling the stipulated norms.
“We will, under no circumstance, compromise on safety,” he emphasised.
In the aftermath of the tragedy in Krishna, only two private companies— The Amaravati Boating Club and Water Sports Simple India Pvt Ltd — are operating boats from Bhavani Island and Punnami Ghat upstream Krishna.
