Guwahati, September 9 (NKTV): Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) President Bhupen Bora has alleged that there were no provisions for safety kits, such as life jackets, swimming tubes etc., in both the boats that collided in the Majuli Tragedy.
The Congress demanded that the state government should immediately give an ex-gratia of Rs 25 lakh to families of those deceased.
“River police team along with SDRF and NDRF personnel should be strategically stationed in river routes for prevention of mishaps” Bora said. “During flood season, is it not mandatory for river transport authorities to monitor water transport activities in order to prevent any such mishap and does Nimatighat and Majuli even have a functioning river police station” he asked.
“How can two vessels collide in broad daylight, in good weather conditions?” Bora asked.
Bora also said that the BJP government have made numerous electoral promises to the people of Majuli and Jorhat time and again but these remain just promises and are not fulfilled. He pointed out that in 2016, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari had laid the foundation of a bridge from Majuli to Jorhat but it did not get any further from that for five long years.
The Roll on Roll off (Ro Ro) service was inaugurated by the then Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal at Kamalabari Ghat in 2018 and a Ro Ro vessel, named MB Bhupen Hazarika, was built at a cost of Rs 9.46 Cr by Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI).
“It had a capacity to carry over 100 passengers along with eight trucks but it is unfortunate that till date the Ro Ro service is not operational for reasons best known to the state government” Bora said.
Inputs from PTI