THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s announcement that a judicial probe will be conducted in the Tanur boat mishap comforts none. Especially given how the judicial commission reports of past tragedies are lying in cold storage.
No action was taken against those responsible for the Thekkady boat disaster, which killed 45 tourists in 2009. In fact, reports on the previous boat tragedies in Kumarakom and Thattekad also have a similar fate.
When a boat tragedy occurs, the serving government will almost always constitute an inquiry commission. If a retired High Court judge is not available, the state government will zero in on a district judge to head the commission, who would inquire what led to the mishap.
Justice K Narayana Kurup - Kumarakom boat tragedy
Justice K Narayana Kurup, who inquired into the Kumarakom boat disaster that happened on July 27, 2002, is disappointed that the successive state governments had not bothered to implement his recommendations.
He told TNIE that then Chief Minister A K Antony developed “cold feet” to appoint the late Captain P K R Nair, master mariner and the former director of ports, as safety commissioner for water transport. “One of the crucial recommendations was that Captn Nair should be appointed as SCWT in the rank of Principal Secretary. But it was never addressed by the then CM and transport minister, the late R Balakrishna Pillai,” Justice Kurup said.
He also recommended close to `1 crore as compensation towards the family members of those who lost their lives in the Kumarakom boat tragedy. “The state government termed it as illogical when the compensation package was included in the terms of reference,” Justice Kurup added.
Justice M M Pareed Pillay - Thattekad boat tragedy
Justice Kurup’s notion that successive boat tragedies like Thattekad and Thekkady could have been avoided if the authorities had heeded his recommendations has been shared by former Chief Justice of Kerala High Court, M M Pareed Pillay.
Justice Pillay had inquired into the Thattekad boat tragedy, which killed 15 children and three teachers who were on a school picnic trip.
Hearing about the Tanur boat tragedy, 89-year-old Pillay, who resides in Aluva, expressed shock to learn that the authorities have not taken any corrective steps to avoid boat mishaps. “When the boat had only a capacity of six passengers, the sailor had 61 passengers to occupy the vessel, culminating in the mishap. I had asked the government to implement swimming as an extra-curricular subject in schools. This has been met with scant regard,” Justice Pillay said.
He had found the boat driver, convener of the school excursion trip, and also the school headmistress responsible for the mishap. “I had proposed comprehensive legislation addressing inland transportation and had come out with 84 recommendations. During 2021, the High Court dropped the culpable homicide charges awarded to the boat driver, who also owned the vessel,” Justice Pillay added.
Justice E Moideen Kunju - Thekkady boat tragedy
The judicial commission led by retired judge E Moideen Kunju that probed the Thekkady boat tragedy found that a defective boat, overloading and an inexperienced driver had combined to cause the accident, which claimed 45 lives in Thekkady reservoir.
He had indicted Kerala Tourism Development Corporation for the boat mishap. Justice Kunju had zeroed in on those people who were responsible for buying the boat behind the tragedy. His findings were that the boat did not meet safety standards, and the most crucial aspect was that the boat driver did not have adequate expertise.