A day after a boat accident in the Pennar river claiming the life of a 12- year-old girl, the Kareemadom village here on Tuesday witnessed some dramatic scenes when a section of local residents staged a protest against Cooperation Minister V.N. Vasavan.
The episode began to unfold in the morning when the Minister was on his way to pay the last respects to Anashwara, who drowned following the accident, at her residence here.
The local people waylaid the Minister, alleging that it was the lack of adequate roads in the village that caused the accident. Accusing the Minister, who is also the local legislator, of not intervening to ensure a well-connected road network in the backwater villages, they said several children in the region had no other option but to risk their lives by taking boats to reach schools.
The situation escalated as the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] workers sought to challenge the protesters, leading to a heated exchange of words between the two sides. The protests ended after the Minister promised to explore the possibility of building a new road to the locality.
Afterwards, the Minister went on to pay his last respects to Anashwara and consoled the bereaved family.
Boat seized
Meanwhile, the Kottayam district police on Tuesday seized the State Water Transport department’s boat involved in the collision. The boat, currently docked at the Kodimatha boat jetty near the Kottayam West police station, will be subjected to fitness examination by the Kerala Ports department.
The police have booked a case of unnatural death in connection with the accident. “Based on the fitness report, a decision on arraigning the boat operator in the case will be taken,’’ said an official.
Anashwara, a Class VII student at Vechoor, drowned in the Pennar river, near Koladichira, on Monday when the country boat she had been travelling was rammed by a passenger boat. The child, who was standing on board, fell into the water in the impact of the collision and could not be rescued by her grandfather Mohanan, who was rowing the country boat. Her body was fished out from a spot near the accident site a few hours later.
