SOURCE :- SIASAT NEWS
Hajipur: Search and rescue operations following a boat capsize in Bihar’s Vaishali district ended on Wednesday, October 14, as the toll in the accident a day ago remained unchanged at 13, while six were fished out of the Ganga waters alive, an official said.
All the deceased were below 15 years of age, including nine girls. Three among the dead were sisters aged between 10 and 13 years.
The boat was carrying nearly 20 people from Rampur Shyamchand village, who were travelling to a nearby area to attend a feast on Tuesday night, District Magistrate Varsha Singh said, adding that an inquiry into the accident has been ordered.
Although it was a private boat hired by villagers for the ride, show cause notices have been issued to the SHO of Raghopur police station and the Circle Officer concerned for failure to prevent so many children from undertaking a dangerous journey in the middle of the night.
Union minister Chirag Paswan and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav were among the leaders who met the families of the victims.
“We have recovered 13 bodies, all of children below 15 years of age. Six others, four of them minors, have been admitted to a hospital where their condition is said to be stable,” the district magistrate told PTI over the phone.
There is no record of how many people were there on the boat, but the villagers say there were close to 20, Singh said, adding: “Nobody has approached us with a missing complaint upon recovery of the bodies”.
The search and rescue operations ended on Wednesday. All 13 bodies were recovered on Tuesday night, and the six were also rescued then.
Union minister Chirag Paswan, under whose parliamentary constituency Hajipur the village falls, met the bereaved family members and voiced concern over villagers’ complaint that they had informed the administration that the boat was in a state of disrepair but no action was taken.
The allegation, however, was rejected by the DM, who maintained that officials were never informed about the poor condition of the boat, though an inquiry has been ordered and action may be taken against the person in whose name the vessel was registered.
Leader of Opposition in the Bihar assembly Tejaswi Yadav demanded an impartial investigation and action against those whose negligence led to the incident.
“The government should provide financial assistance to the kin of the deceased along with a patch of land,” Yadav told reporters in Patna before leaving for Raghopur.
He expressed condolences to the bereaved families and said his party would provide them with financial assistance.
Deputy CM Bijendra Prasad Yadav and Cooperative Minister Ramkripal Yadav met the families of the deceased in their village as representatives of the state government. They took stock of the situation and assured them that the administration was committed to helping the families in all possible ways.
Union Minister Giriraj Singh criticised Tejashwi Yadav, who is an MLA from Raghopur and was in New Delhi to participate in the anti-SIR protest, for not visiting the affected families.
“The Raghopur incident is indeed unfortunate, but it is also unfortunate that the local MLA, who also happens to be Leader of Opposition, was busy holding a meeting in Delhi when he ought to have been here,” Singh told reporters in Vaishali.
Union Minister Nityanand Rai, a resident of Vaishali district, also visited the affected region with state Disaster Management Minister Ratnesh Sada.
“The central and state governments are standing firmly by the bereaved families in this moment of grief. Financial support has already been announced,” he said.
Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary has announced an ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh to the kin of each deceased.
Rai added that he has instructed the district magistrate to identify all boats in Vaishali district that are unfit for operation or in a dilapidated state, and urge owners to fix those or have those banned.
SOURCE : SIASAT
