ithin months of the Wular lake
(Jammu and Kashmir) tragedy in May this year, Ballabhgarh
witnessed an equally tragic boat mishap. And the cause in both the
cases was the same overloading and lack of safety equipment. In
fact according to reports, in the case of Ballabgarh boat mishap,
it was also a case of a greedy boat contractor who tried to make a
fast buck by pressing into service a fishing boat instead of the
contracted diesel-powered steamer.And worse, he took twice the
number of passengers that the boat had the capacity to carry. And
this was not a shallow riverbed that they were crossing. The
Yamuna canal, it is said, runs at least 30 feet deep during the
monsoon. Apparently, the villagers - who had to cross the river
daily to go to their fields across the river - had complained to
the sarpanch about the contractor using a fishing boat instead of
the steamer, but without much success.
In addition to
overloading, poor quality of boats have also contributed to the
increasing number of boat accidents. In fact in several cases, the
boats have sunk or overturned because of the water gushing into
the boats, causing panic among the passengers. Life buoys and life
jackets can, of course, save lives even in case of such accidents,
but in the absence of such safety measures, the death toll is
invariably high. And this is particularly so during monsoon when
the rivers are full and overflowing.
And this year, considering
the heavy rains and floods in many parts of the country, the
number of such boat mishaps may well go up, unless the local
administration takes adequate measures to prevent them.
So first
and foremost local governments have to take out whatever safety
regulations (if any) that are gathering dust and see if they need
to be updated and upgraded. The system of licensing the boat
owners has to be made more stringent. Their boats have to be
examined every three months for their water worthiness and it
should become mandatory for each boat to carry adequate number of
life buoys. And every boat should state in bold letters, the
number of people that it can carry so that passengers are also
aware of the capacity of the boats.
Those boat owners/service
providers who overload the boats should lose their licence. And
state governments should provide interest-free loans to those who
run these boat services in small towns and villages. They should
also be provided with life jackets for passengers. Like motor
vehicles, it should also become mandatory for boats owners to take
insurance cover for passengers.
Whether it is Kerala or Kashmir,
Andhra Pradesh or Uttar Pradesh, Bihar or Orissa, today, boats are
becoming an integral part of our transportation network,
particularly in states with huge water bodies.
Unfortunately, in
many of these places, the boats in use have not incorporated
better safety features, modern designs and materials. It's time
state governments paid more attention to this and with the help of
experts in the field modernised the water transportation system
and made it safer. And this also applies to tourist boat rides in
lakes and rivers. In January last year, reports from Kottayam,
Kerala, said seven tourists on a joy ride on the Vembanad lake had
been thrown off the boat when the boat swayed. Only three were
rescued.
So it's time we incorporated safety as an integral part
of our water transportation system.
