BRIMMING WITH DANGER: Hundreds of school children from far away villages travel by ferries to Baliyanta, on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar on August 11, 2008. Photo: Ashoke Chakrabarty
LESSONS UNLEARNT: Authorities tend to ignore boat mishaps and continue to expose passengers to risk. An over-crowded boat ferrying passengers across the Ganges in Patna. Photo: Ranjeet Kumar
BEYOND THE GLOSS: Danger lurks in the lap of nature. Kerala's Kovungall-Thattekkad nature trail has several bridges like this one. File photo: H. Vibhu
TRANSPORT SERVICES: Ferry services from Howrah station to various points of Kolkata are very popular among daily commuters, calling for strict safety measures. File photo: Arunangsu Roy Chowdhury
SAFETY AT A PREMIUM: Well-protected tourists being ferried on coracles to reach Vijaya Vitala temple at Hampi.File photo: M. Ahiraj
NOT SO LUCKY: The body of one of the victims of coracle capsize in Karnataka, retrieved from the Krishnaraja Sagar backwaters by divers in October 2007. Photo: M. A. Sriram
REMEMBERING A TRAGEDY: A passenger boat of the Kerala State Water Transport Department that sank at the Boat Jetty, Ernakulam on June 20, 2005. Photo: Vipin Chandran
SCENIC YET SCARY: Behind the scenic beauty of India's waterways there is a daily danger of unprotected travel. These employees are on board a ferry to their workplace near Kochi, Kerala. Photo: K. K. Mustafah
ANOTHER STATISTIC: Volunteers, with the help of local boatmen retrieve a dead body from the Ganges in Varanasi in February 2004. More than 15 people were feared drowned when an overloaded boat capsized. No rescue operation could be launched by the river police due to lack of resources. Photo: Akhilesh Kumar
WATCHING IN VAIN: Villagers watch as Navy divers get ready to search for people after a boat capsize at Ballabgarh in Haryana on August 06, 2006. A boat, carrying 30 people, capsized in the Yamuna killing at least six people. Photo: Special Arrangement
UPTO THE BRIM: People throng the Gosaba ferry ghat to reach different islands of the Sundarbans. File photo: Arunangsu Roy Chowdhury.
LOST TO THE WATERS: Thousands of Kashmiri people attend the funeral of nine of the 20 school children who died when a boat carrying them capsized on the Wular Lake, 70 kms north of Srinagar on May 30, 2006. Photo: Nissar Ahmad
TEARY FAREWELL: Thousands of Kashmiris attending the funeral of nine of the 20 children, aged between seven and 14, who died when a boat carrying them capsized on the Wular Lake, 70 kms north of Srinagar on May 30, 2006. Photo: Nissar Ahmad
TO THE RESCUE: The Navy and local residents plunge into the waters to save passengers after an overcrowded passenger boat capsized in the Vembanad lake, Kerala, near the famous Kumarakom resort in 2002. Photo: PTI
DANGER IN THE LAP OF NATURE: The scenic beauty of India's wateways has turned a grave for many, largely because of unsafe practices and poor enforcement of safety regulations.
AN UNCERTAIN LIFELINE: For residents in the riverine areas of the Ganges a ferry is their main mode of transport. Despite regular mishaps, a mechanism that ensures passenger safety is yet to be put in place, and boats continue to travel overloaded despite regulations. Photo: AP
CONSIGNED TO THE FLAMES: The funeral of passengers who lost their lives when a boat capsized in Bihar. About 100 people died when an overcrowded boat capsized about 225 km from Patna on September 28, 2009. Photo: PTI
SCANT REGARD FOR SAFETY: Despite a vast network of inland waterways, and designated national waterways, India has a long way to go before it can enforce passenger safety for this important mode of transport.
MARINE MISADVENTURES: Not content with fun on the shore, youngsters take risks in the form of unauthorised boat rides into the sea. This boat capsized off the Elliots Beach, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, on May 24, 2009, but its 15 passengers had a narrow escape. Photo: M. Karunakaran
THE RISKY ROW TO SCHOOL: Students crosssing the Bhavani river in Tamil Nadu on a coracle for want of a road bridge between Vairamangalam and Thalawaipet, in Erode on July 8, 2006. Photo: M. Govarthan
REMNANTS OF A DISASTER: A part of the boat that capsized in the Periyar near Thattekkad, Kerala, killing 18 people, including 15 school children in February 2007. Photo: H. Vibhu