BHOPAL: Viral videos of the April 30 Bargi Dam cruise boat tragedy, in which ten passengers perished and 28 were rescued, vividly narrated how the atmosphere in the Narmada Queen had turned from joy to gloom, as a storm lashed the vessel, unfolding a story of utter negligence, and apathy by the officials concerned and also emergence of good Samaritans from nowhere to rescue the drowning tourists.
The clips backed the narratives by the survivors who lost their nears and dears in the heart-wrenching incident.
One clip showed the cheerful mood among the tourists drowned in singing, dancing and clapping at the start of the trip with the breeze caressing the passengers, enjoying the journey on the upper deck of the vessel.
Another video showed the sudden shift in the atmosphere in the boat from joy to gloom as the breeze started intensifying into a storm making the vessel uncontrollable and water entering into the cabin where the majority of passengers were sitting.
A man wearing a life jacket was seen in another video unpacking a bundle of life jackets and hurriedly distributing them with other passengers as panic started setting in among them.
A survivor Rajesh Soni who was on board with three family members said that life jackets were not given to the passengers at the start of the journey and the crew started looking for the life jackets when the boat became unstable after being hit by the storm.
“The life jackets were kept on the lower floor and they were distributed only when the situation turned worse. Majority of those who wore the life jackets were rescued while being afloat, while those who could not place a hand on it drowned”, he said.
Roshan Anand, who was in the boat along with his nine family members, said that there was a mad rush for the life jackets when the boat was going out of control.
He said that the crew members including the pilot jumped off the boat when it started sinking, leaving the passengers in a panic.
Pilot Mahesh Patel however denied the charges claiming that he was in touch with the ground staff for help when the vessel became uncontrollable due to the inclement weather.
Patel who was sacked along with another crew member Chottelal Gond and ticket counter in-charge Brijendra, also said that he was not informed of the yellow alert given by the meteorology department.
It was a violation of the basic norm of cruise boat operation if the passengers are allowed on board without wearing the life jacket, an officer admitted.
Environmental activist Ajey Dubey said that the cruise boat was being operated in the Bargi Dam despite ‘heavy warning’ by the National Green Tribunal (NGT), which raised concern about pollution in the water body.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: deccanchronicle.com
