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Maintenance of boats not satisfactory: panel

By Our Staff Reporter

ALAPPUZHA FEB. 10. The Justice K. Narayana Kurup Commission inquiring into the Kumarakom boat tragedy, in which 29 persons were killed, has observed that the upkeep of boats by the State Water Transport Department (SWTD) leaves much to be desired.

Speaking to mediapersons after inspecting the ill-fated boat, now kept at the boatyard of the department at its headquarters here, the commission noted that there was a need for overhauling the department.

The safety of passengers could not be ensured under the present system, noted P. K. R. Nair, expert to the commission of inquiry.

Mr. Nair said the State Government had already initiated steps for modernising the fleet of boats under the department. He said that global tenders would be floated for buying 30 new boats.

Justice Narayana Kurup said that the commission would hold a comprehensive analysis of the causes that led to the accident. The commission would soon hold a sitting at Muhamma for eliciting the views of passengers of the ill-fated boat and other individuals and organisations.

The passengers who escaped from the mishap, representatives of trade unions and social organisations also gave evidences to the commission on the mishap. The passengers noted that they had noticed leaks in the boat after it started from the Muhamma station.

Sijimol, a passenger, told the commission that those who were inside the boat got panicky when they saw water rushing in. Following this, they shifted sides which upset the boat's balance.

The Boat Crew Association president, N. Sukumaran, pointed out that the police failed to prepare an FIR even two days after the mishap. Rules stipulated that in the event of an accident involving a boat, FIR should be prepared within 12 hours of the mishap.

Mr. Sukumaran also noted that the ill-fated boat was not covered with an aluminium foil, which is usually done to prevent the possibility of leakage. He said that the foil of the boat had been removed when it was taken for repairing before the accident. A majority of the SWTD's boats did not have aluminium foil coverage, he said.

Viswambharan, a trade union leader, noted that the SWTD boats did not have modern navigation systems. They did not have charts indicating the safe waterways in backwaters, he said.

Mr. Viswambharan said that the lights of the boats were inadequate to ensure safe movements. He noted that the absence of state of the art systems in boats to forewarn the impending dangers in the waterways was posing a threat to boats.

The Vaikom MLA, T. Narayanan, said though he had warned the SWTD several times about the risks involved in using the ill-fated boat, the authorities did not heed to his warning. Mr. Narayanan said that he had raised a submission in the State Assembly demanding the removal of the boat from service.

Though the department had initiated some stopgap arrangements, nothing concrete was done in the issue, said Mr. Narayanan.

Meanwhile, it was alleged that the MLAs of Alappuzha, Ambalappuzha, Mararikkulam and Kuttanad who were supposed to give evidence to the commission had failed to do so.

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