KENDRAPARA: A 15-year-old boy drowned and a man went missing after a country boat carrying around 28 people capsized in Brahmani river in Aul here on Thursday morning. The boy was identified as Debendra Behera, a Class X student who recently appeared in the HSC examinations. The missing person is boatman Sudarshan Swain.
The ill-fated boat was carrying villagers of Eakamania to Keraragada. It was reportedly loaded well beyond its capacity. An eyewitness Narayan Samal said all the passengers in the boat fell into the crocodile-infested river after it capsized. “Locals travelling in another boat jumped into the water and rescued the drowning passengers. As the boat sank near the river bank, the lives of 26 people could be saved,” he said.
Aul IIC Dilip Sahoo said locals and police retrieved the boy’s body from the river. Efforts are underway to trace the boatman. Kendrapara sub-collector Niranjan Behera said the administration has made it mandatory for all private boat owners to get fitness certificates from the Inland Water Transport authorities for carrying passengers in their vessels. “We have also warned all the private boat owners to provide life jackets to passengers. The administration will take strict action against the boat owner if it is found that safety norms were violated,” he added.
Following the mishap, irate villagers of Eakamania gheraoed Industries Minister and local MLA Pratap Keshari Deb rushed to the spot after being informed about the incident. The agitators demanded a bridge over the river.
A villager Haripada Rout alleged that since 2000, the government was fooling the locals by giving false promise to build a bridge over Brahmani at Eakamania. “We have urged the administration to sanction funds for construction of a concrete bridge over the crocodile-infested river several times in the past. But all our pleas have fallen on deaf ears. In the absence of a bridge, locals are forced to cross the river on unsafe boats by risking their lives,” he claimed. Minister Deb assured the villagers that the government will soon construct a bridge over Brahmani at Eakamania.
Brahmani tragedy