SAMBALPUR: The Jharsuguda administration will provide life jackets and lifebuoys for free in all boats ferrying passengers across the Hirakud dam reservoir from here.
The administration has decided to spend `four lakh from the Indian Red Cross Society funds for procuring life jackets and lifebuoys to ensure safety of people who cross the Hirakud dam reservoir in boats everyday.
Villagers residing in the periphery of the dam reservoir use the waterway to reach different parts of the district. Although it is mandatory for boatmen to provide a life jacket to each passenger, no such step is being taken. They claim that life jackets are expensive. In February last year, 31 persons had drowned in a boat mishap in the dam reservoir.
Of the nine ferry ghats in the district, seven are operational now. There are eight large boats with each having a capacity to ferry 285 persons at a time. The district administration has planned to provide 300 life jackets in each of these boats.
“We will also ensure that people use these life jackets while travelling in the boats,” said District Emergency Officer, Debendra Nanda. Apart from life jackets, five lifebuoys will be provided to each boat. Nanda said lifebuoys will be provided to fishing boats in the next phase. The project entails cost of `30 lakh and a proposal has been submitted to the State Government for approval. Around 1,200 fishing boats are registered in the district and 1,800 fishermen of two cooperative societies earn their livelihood through them.