The Andhra Pradesh government went into an overdrive the last couple of days, assuring safety, vowing action, seeking reports, constituting committees and holding meetings—a textbook example of a damage-control exercise if ever there was one. The question that naturally comes to mind is why is it that it always takes a major tragedy for it to wake up. Sunday’s boat mishap in river Krishna near the Pavithra Sangamam in Vijayawada that claimed over 20 lives isn’t the first-such incident. There had been at least 12 such accidents in 2014-15 in which 16 people lost their lives.
Most of these could have been avoided had the various departments involved, in particular the tourism and irrigation departments, done their jobs properly. The tourism department has been proactive, rolling out the red carpet for private players to develop tourist hotspots, but has turned a blind eye to the way the private companies operate once the MoUs are signed. A case in point is the River Boating and Adventures Partners Pvt Ltd whose boat capsized the other day.
It had inked an MoU with the tourism department but didn’t bother to obtain the requisite permits thereafter; neither did the department deem it fit to monitor its activities. On Tuesday, Tourism Minister Akhila Priya announced a slew of measures including a single-window system for issuing licences, district-level panels to keep tabs on boat operators, training for drivers and subsidy on life jackets to prevent accidents. However, what matters is the follow-up action. She should ensure that the new system is not only put in place at the earliest, but also that it functions effectively.
Stringent action should be taken against government officials who are hand in glove with the accused. The minister has suspended an assistant general manager and a deputy general manager and terminated the services of five others for dereliction of duty and ‘encouraging’ the errant company. That is not enough. They should be made an example of, since their greed is the real cause of the tragedy.