Andhra Pradesh boat tragedy: Officials fail to rein in erring ferry operators

VISAKHAPATNAM: Even after a series of boat accidents in Godavari and Krishna rivers, some boats were found to be operating in the area without permits. Officials appear to have failed to conduct proper raids as has been prescribed and register cases against boat operators for violating protocols and flouting rules.
CPM leader Ch Narasinga Rao, who visited parts of East Godavari and Krishna districts, said that due to the nexus between officials and boat operators, over 60 to 100 private boats have been operating without obtaining licence at tourist spots.
Only when a tragedy strikes do officials conduct raids, otherwise they tend to wash their hands off the responsibility, he added.
As per the norms, boat operators have to follow guidelines prescribed by the Indian Registration of Shipping and the Inland Vessels Act, 1917, he added.
Nearly one year ago, the AP Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) officials said that over 50 boats were running services in the state, including the Krishna and Godavari rivers.
Sources said that boat operators were not following fire safety measures. As per rules, all boat owners are expected to follow a standard set of fire safety norms and carry extinguishers, sand buckets, caution boards, life buoys and few others for fire control and emergencies on-board. But fire service personnel had not been conducting any raids on the boat to verify the implementation of thesefire safety measures, sources said.
Officials failing to release the list of missing persons involved in the incident, indicated that the boat operators either did not maintain proper passenger logs or had chosen to ignore revealing the data of the missing persons.
"Incidents of boat accidents have been tarnishing the image of Andhra Pradesh in the global tourism map and has raised doubts over the safety of the tourists," said Ramakrishna, a resident of Vizag, whose relatives have gone missing in the incident.