While boat tragedies occur in the State almost every year, successive governments have done little other than announcing ex gratia to the victims’ kin and constituting committees to fix the blame.
Observers say crores of rupees are involved in the private boat business. Politicians are said to have a hand in the pie, which can explain why there is no systemic overhaul of the entire industry.
The TDP government had come up with the Andhra Pradesh Inland Vessel Rules, 2017 after a tragedy on the Krishna. The rules are said to contain detailed guidelines for construction, survey and registration of boats along with detailed standard operating procedures (SOP) for life-saving and firefighting mechanism on the boats in case of emergencies.
However, the ground reality is that none of these rules is being followed.
Around 4,000 tourists travel to Papikondalu every day during the peak season. The boat operators charge ₹750 to ₹1,200 depending upon the rush. Similarly, ₹100 to ₹400 per head is charged for a ride in the Krishna. The boats ferrying passengers to Papikondalu alone would earn several crores of rupees.
Political blame game
Whenever a boat tragedy occurs, political parties are quick to begin a blame game. When a similar tragedy had occurred in the Krishna, the opposition YSRCP had held then Water Resources Minister Devineni Umamaheswara Rao responsible. Now, former MP G.V. Harsha Kumar levelled serious allegations that the boat sailed only after Tourism Minister Muttamsetti Srinivas Rao called the police, who till then had reportedly not allowed the boat to leave from Devipatnam.
The YSRCP, when in the Opposition, had even dashed off a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi claiming that the State government’s acts of "omission and commission" were largely responsible for the mishap. The YSRCP even said that the ex gratia of ₹10 lakh announced by the Chief Minister was insufficient and wanted it to be hiked to ₹20 lakh. Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, as Leader of the Opposition, called for cases to be booked against then CM N. Chandrababu Naidu for criminal negligence.
Cut to the present, the YSRCP government too has announced an ex gratia of ₹10 lakh to the kin of the deceased. No criminal action has also been taken till date.
