Kendrapara: There are no bridges to connect as many as 17 panchayats in the coastal Kendrapara district which has seven rivers and 27 rivulets flowing through its territory. People in these panchayats have no other option but to depend on boats, most of the time overloaded, to move from one place to another.
Despite the district witnessing several incidents of boat capsize claiming many lives in the past, the boat safety rules have been thrown to the wind as they travel onboard the boats without life jackets. As a result, boat rides have become a risky proposition for the residents as well as for scores of tourists visiting various tourist destinations in this coastal district.
There are 63 major river ghats from where boats ply one after another to various destinations. A quick check by this correspondent established that not even a single person in any of the boats wears a life jacket.
The state government has framed boat rules for passengers’ safety but the owners and boatmen continue to flout the rules and carry passengers in their boats without any life jackets. Moreover, fishing boats are being used to carry passengers to their destinations and to various tourist sites in the Bhitarkanika National Park. Lack of action on part of the district administration has only emboldened them to carry on their illegal business with impunity.
Social activist Pratap Kumar Padhi said that over 17 panchayats including Padanipal, Ekamania, Singhagaon, Batighar are surrounded by rivers and nullahs. Tourists visiting sites like Hukitola, Havelikhati, Batighar and Barunei in and around the Bhitarkanika National Park are not spared from the serious life threat lurking behind them.
He alleged that despite small country boats being the primary mode of transport in this district, but the state government’s Boat Rules 2004 are yet to be implemented in the district.
Another social activist Rashmi Ranjan Swain said many boats and boatmen have not been insured as per Boat Rules yet. They even carry passengers lacking in fitness. In case of any mishap, the passengers travelling in boats are not entitled to compensation as they have not been insured under the Boat Rules.
Meanwhile, over 60 boats lacking fitness are plying inside the Bhitarkanika National Park.
A villager Narendra Kumar Das of Gupti village under Rajnagar block said there are over 1,700 crocodiles in various water bodies in and around Bhitarkanika. The boats from Gupti, Chandbali, Khola, Jaynagar, Kharinasi, Bahakud and Jambu areas ply in these water bodies. What is worse is that, many of the boatmen are even minors.
The boatmen ferry more passengers overloading their boats due to lure of money putting the life of these passengers at risk. However, the district administration has failed to take any action against them.
Bibhuti Bhushan Rout of Mahakalapara said a fishing trawler capsized in a river under Talchua police limits of Rajnagar block, June 16, 2022 in which one person drowned while 12 persons were rescued.
Similarly, five labourers had a close shave after a boat overturned near Pitapata of Mahakalapara block, June 19, 2020. At the same spot, a boat carrying cricket players from neighbouring Jagatsinghpur district had capsized following which 13 budding cricketers lost their lives, March 1, 2013.
Similarly, 10 women and children died after a boat capsized at Nipania, January 2, 2019. Delay in construction of bridges has become another reason of increasing boat mishaps. The construction of bridges at Bahakud and Kharinasi are underway but yet to be completed. Similarly, boat is the only mode of transport at many places during the rainy season.
When contacted, ADM Pitambar Samal said awareness programmes are being conducted for the boatmen and action is taken against the boat owner and boatmen if they are found flouting rules.
PNN