KURNOOL: Officials on Friday heaved a sigh of relief with the peaceful conclusion of the three-day Singotam Jatara at Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple in Kollapur of Telangana State where at least 10,000 people had converged using boats to cross Krishna river.They had learnt lessons from earlier tragedies, including the recent Krishna district boat tragedy in which 28 passengers had died, and made all boat safety arrangements at three different ghats on the banks of Krishna River in Nandikotkur Assembly constituency of Kurnool district for safe journey.
Several villagers in Atmakur, Nandikotkur, Pagidyala, Jupadu Bunglow, Pamulapadu and Kothapalli mandals take these risky boat ride ride regularly. They normally cross the river by boats and ferries to reach the other banks of Krishna river, which lies in Kollapur, Alampur and Nagar Kurnool of Telangana. .
Revenue and police officials strictly screened passengers on engine boats, restricting numbers to 18 per boat. In all, 19 engine boats operated from the selected three ghats on Krishna river for the past three days.
On other side, due to restrictions on unfit engine boats, Singotam Jatara saw less number of pilgrims from Nandikotkur and Atmakur this year, said local people.The officials made all arrangements for the safe journey. But they are not responding to the pressing need of building a bridge across the river, G Vishnu, a villager of Muchumarri, said.
Devotees safety ensured
Total seven departments, including revenue, police, irrigation, fisheries, fire services, agriculture, medical and health, worked with coordination in operation of boats for Singotam Jatara
A total of 19 boats were operated in Krishna river, including 3 at Arlapadu ghat, 2 at Sangameswara ghat and 14 at Nehrunagar ghat
The capacity of each boat is 20, including two drivers
Each boat made 9 to 10 trips a day from 6 am to 5 pm
About 300 life jackets provided to devotees to ensure their safety during the boat ride