Lessons Unlearnt Led to Major Loss of Lives in Brahmaputra

The boat mishap near North Guwahati on Wednesday was waiting to happen, so glaring has been the negligence of Inland Water Transport Department (IWTD) in ensuring rudimentary standards of passenger safety. This is not the first time people have come to grief in taking rickety motorised country boats plying across the Brahmaputra between the two Guwahati. Two decades back, many lives were lost when one such bhutbhuti was hit by another off Umananda near Guwahati during Chhat puja festivities. Elsewhere in the State, there have been disasters like the boat capsizes at Medertari in 2012 and on river Kolohi near Chhaygaon in 2015, but no lessons have been learnt. Why? Because the powers-be are determined that absolutely nothing must come in the way of pocketing their ‘commissions’. It is obvious to anyone taking a ride on such boats how dangerous the whole affair is, particularly when rivers are in spate. The capacity of a general bhutbhuti plying between Guwahati city and North Guwahati is around 30 passengers, but nearly twice that number pile in, along with a dozen or so two-wheelers. There are hardly any life jackets on board and the overloaded boat clears the water by barely a foot. Hundreds of people put up with this risky journey day after day because they must work in the city and go back home; the only alternative is a far longer and costlier route over Xaraighat bridge, not to speak of its interminable traffic jams. Pleading helplessness in meeting the needs of this high volume of passengers with the ever fewer serviceable ships at its disposal, the IWT authority has been leasing out its ghats with a vengeance. After forking out to IWTD its dues, the lessees maximize profits by squeezing in as many passengers and vehicles they can on board. All safety regulations are thrown to the winds. There is hardly any inspection worth the name to ascertain boat condition, maximum permissible load and safety devices. Many passengers claim they pay the boatmen without buying a ticket at the counter. This means the State government is being cheated of revenue. It cannot happen without IWT officials colluding with lessees and taking their share of the loot to look the other way. Government ferry vessels are rusting away even as there are grand proclamations from Dispur about introducing ro-ro vessels and river taxis. Meanwhile, precious lives are being lost. There has to be accountability, starting from the top.

Accounts by passengers who took the ill-fated ride on Wednesday reveal that the motor went kaput mid-river, the regular driver was missing and his two raw assistants struggled vainly to control the boat as it got pulled into a strong current and disintegrated after dashing into a pillar. There is no knowing exactly how many people were on board because of the number of those travelling without tickets — apart from three persons confirmed dead, the authorities are counting on the number of complaints filed by families of those gone missing, so as to get a fix on the actual number of victims. But there could have been passengers hailing from places farther away, and their families may well be unaware they took the boat. There is a distinct possibility of more bodies being fished out far downstream in the coming days if reports of 15-17 people missing are anything to go by. As for the concrete structure against which the boat collided, the IWT authority is learnt to have claimed before media that it is unaware about this under-construction pier of the JICA water supply project. Even if taken at face value, it only shows the lack of coordination between Guwahati Development Department (GDD), Assam Jal Board and IWT authority. Meanwhile, bhutbhutis have been banned from plying for the rest of this rainy season. It is nothing but a knee-jerk reaction and is meaningless without strict measures to ensure that the lessees comply with rules. They must not be allowed to resume operations just because they need to pay the IWTD and make a living at the expense of passenger safety. The Transport Minister has promised to table a bill on regulating water transport in the coming Assembly session. He should first take a call whether another law will help when IWT officials themselves are party to the mockery of rules made by their department. The Chief Minister has ordered an enquiry. He would be well served if it identifies the vested interests that have made river transport a risky proposition for people, and if its recommendations finally get implemented on the ground. These are very big ifs, as many voluminous reports gathering dust in Dispur will testify.