Woman drowns during illegal boat ride in Pulicat

CHENNAI: A 40-year-old woman from Royapuram drowned in Pulicat lake on Sunday and nine others had a narrow escape after the boat in which they went on a ride capsized. The survivors were rescued by local fishermen.
Boat rides in Pulicat were banned after 22 people died in 2011 during a similar ride on Christmas.
Police said around 2pm on Sunday, 10 people, including the deceased woman Mary John, had gone to attend a wedding at Naduvur Madha Kuppam. They decided to go on a boat ride after attending the function and hired one for Rs 600. They went till the estuary and spent three hours. Around 5pm, when they were returning to the shore, another boat hit theirs from behind. It capsized and all the 10 passengers fell into the water.
The boat owner and fishermen from other boats plunged into the lake and rescued nine. The survivors have been identified as K Periyanagasami, 47, his wife Shakila, 43, and their son Johnson, 17, L Ramya, 24, and her husband Lourthuraj, 26, R Sagayamary, 40, S Justin, 18, R Vimal, 16 and J Susan, 8. Mary’s body has been sent to the Ponneri government hospital for postmortem.
Police said the people were taken inside the lake without safety gear and life jackets. Quoting witnesses, police said the accident took place some 500m from the mouth of the lake. The Thirupalaivanam police have registered a case against the boatman.
Durai Mahendran, secretary of the Tiruvallur Traditional Fishermen Association, said fishermen never entertain tourists. “These men are operating separately, earning money from illegal rides. There are 40 to 50 boats being operated illegally, taking tourists for joyrides and charging anywhere between Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,000 for a family of four,” he said. He said a normal fishing boat could accommodate only four to eight people unlike other boats that are being overloaded.
Mahendran said only if the government decided to make it a tourist activity and trained boatmen, such illegal rides would stop.