With the boat capsize incident of Khaja Kotnoor village of Gulbarga on Saturday, it is probably time for the state government and district administration to analyse the reasons behind repeated water related accidents in the district at an interval of every three years.
On the night August 15, 2004, 12 people were killed in a boat capsize in Bima River in Ghattarga village of Afzalpur taluk. However, the rescue operations commenced only on the next day. In the drowning incident in Sharanabasaveshwara lake in Gulbarga City in 2007, three children died and the district administration took time to fish the bodies out of the lake.
In 2009, five persons were killed when a boat overturned near Itaga village of Jewargi taluk on April 17, 2009. The rescue operations began only after three hours of the incident.
In the boat capsize incident of Khaja Kotnoor village of Gulbarga taluk which took place on Friday evening at about 5.30 pm but the rescue operations began only at about 7 pm and ended on Saturday morning. The official sources admitted that the district administration does not have a wing of trained swimmers to immediately swing into operation. Apart from this, the district lacks necessary equipment to manage such incidents.
It is also being said that a lack of strict vigil on the condition of boats being used in various lakes, tanks and rivers in Gulbarga is the main reason behind such incidents. The officials admitted that most boats used by the fishermen do not have licenses. The fishermen were given licenses for catching fish but they use these boats for ferrying people and they charge money for it.