At least 12 persons, including women and children, were feared drowned on Thursday when a boat capsized in Sangli's flood-hit Palus taluk.
Nine bodies have been recovered so far, while the search for the missing is on. The incident occurred on Thursday morning when around 30 to 32 stranded persons were being ferried in a boat belonging to the gram panchayat of Brahmanal village.
“The boat, which belonged to the Brahmanal gram panchayat, was not part of the official relief operations being carried out by the NDRF and the Army,” said Pune Divisional Commissioner Deepak Mhaisekar. An NDRF team has reached the spot of accident, he said.
According to sources, the incident has sent waves of panic among the 200 persons who were still stranded in Brahmanal village.
Sheer apathy, NCP leader
Accusing the Devendra Fadnavis government of sheer apathy, Nationalist Congress Party State president Jayant Patil expressed displeasure in the manner in which rescue operations were being carried out
“Several thousands of people are stranded in villages in Sangli. In the absence of administrative and official help, people are now so desperate that they are crying out for life jackets. I do not want to indulge in a blame game at this stage, but the government appears to have woken up to the seriousness of the situation only now,” Mr. Patil said, stating that 8,000 persons were stranded in Sangalwadi village in the district.
Commenting on the accident, Swabhimani Paksha chief Raju Shetti said that since the administration had proved ineffectual, people were panicking as the water levels increased.
He pointed out that only 8 to 10 persons could be evacuated by a boat and that the government ought to consider other means such as airlifting.
“At this stage, it is not even possible for official rescue teams to reach backwater places, despite their best efforts. As a result of this, anxiety levels among those marooned in the villages around the banks of the Krishna, Warana, Panchganga and Dudhganga Rivers had reached a fever pitch. With water levels rising sharply, I appeal to people not to overload boats and not to panic,” Mr. Shetti said, remarking that it was the State government that was ultimately responsible for the plight of the people.