PURI/BHUBANESWAR: Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairy Parshottam Rupala, his wife and entourage of officials had a big scare in the middle of Chilika lake in Puri district on Sunday evening when their boat got stuck in the dense weeds rendering them incommunicado for hours.
The minister was travelling from Balugaon to Satapada when the boat reportedly ventured into a marshy section and got stuck. As the VIPs did not reach the destination and out of contact, the district administration got into a tizzy. Search boats were pressed into action and after a frantic lookout the minister’s boat was found and they were rescued.
According to reports, Rupala, his wife and joint secretary, department of Fisheries Neetu Kumari Prasad had gone to Chilika and attended the Sagar Parikrama programme at Nairi. They then went to Balugaon and from there to Arakuda, a fishermen village within the lake.
When the motorised boat left Arakuda for Satapada, it reportedly encountered dense weeds which jammed the motor, making it immobile. The boat following the minister’s vessel also reportedly lost direction in the evening darkness. The minister and his companions had to spend hours in darkness and cold before the search boats rescued them. The minister finally reached Satapada by 9 pm.
The minister had to cancel his proposed meeting at Brahmagiri due to the incident and headed to Puri. He, however, had a meeting with fishermen at Penthakota in Puri later in the evening. Senior BJP leader and national spokesperson Sambit Patra was also present.The boat ferrying the union minister was stuck due to low water level and weed. He was rescued safely, said Puri Sadar SDPO RN Bhanja.