GUWAHATI, Sept 9: Plying of single-engine ferries on the Brahmaputra between Nimatighat and Majuli has been banned from Thursday as a precautionary measure in the wake of Wednesday’s boat mishap near Nimatighat in Upper Assam’s Jorhat district.
“All such single-engine ferries have been stopped as they don’t have marine engines. If owners of the ferries wish to convert single engines to marine engines, the state government will provide a grant of Rs 10 lakh with subsidy,” Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told reporters after visiting the mishap site near Nimatighat on Thursday.
Dredging between Nimatighat and Majuli would be carried out to create a navigation channel on the Brahmaputra, he said.
Sarma also visited the passengers undergoing treatment at Jorhat Medical College and Hospital.
The chief minister said that to ensure uninterrupted services between Nimatighat and Kamalabari Ghat, six government ferries would be deployed in service while Ro-Pax services will also begin in two to three days.
The deputy commissioners of Jorhat and Majuli districts will re-schedule and monitor timings of the ferry services. Besides, standard operating procedures (SOPs) will be issued to schedule health checkups of those working on the boats.
“A high-level probe into the boat mishap will be conducted while I have directed the district administration to register a criminal case against the accident,” Sarma said.
An official report on Thursday morning stated that a total of 90 passengers were on board the ill-fated boat, “Maa Kamala”, of which Parimita Das (30), a teacher of Rangachahi College in Majuli, lost her life.
Till Thursday afternoon, two passengers were missing while 87 others had been rescued or traced alive by the NDRF and SDRF teams.
It may be mentioned that the tragic incident happened as a ferry under inland water transport (IWT), MB Tipkai, coming from Kamalabari ghat in Majuli, collided with the boat, “Maa Kamala”, which was leaving from Nimatighat, Jorhat around 4.15 pm on Wednesday.
Subsequently, the boat, which was also transporting some two-wheelers, capsized as panicky passengers either fell or jumped into the river to save themselves.
The chief minister, while expressing solidarity with the deceased’s family members, assured that compensation would be given to the passengers who lost vehicles/valuables and documents in the incident.
Reacting to protests over the delay in construction of a bridge linking Majuli with Nimatighat (Jorhat), the chief minister said that work on the project would begin from November this year and the bridge would be completed in four years. A group of ministers will monitor progress of the project.
Earlier, the chief minister took stock of the present situation and rescue operations by National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF). As many as 167 personnel of 1st Battalion NDRF team stationed at Jorhat and 12th Battalion NDRF team from Sivasagar, Dhemaji and Itanagar conducted the search operation with 24 rescue boats and 30 deep divers.
Forty-one personnel, including nine deep divers of SDRF from Jorhat, Golaghat, Garmur (Majuli) and Bokakhat, conducted the search with seven rescue boats.
The capsized boat was also cut open by NDRF and SDRF teams but no bodies were found inside.
A hotel in Jorhat has been arranged for the rescued persons requiring accommodation
Official sources said 11 passengers were admitted to Jorhat Medical College and Hospital for treatment while three have been discharged till Thursday morning.
“The eight persons admitted at JMCH are stable. However, they are currently under observation as they are under mental stress/trauma and may require counselling,” JMCH superintendent Purnima Barua informed on Thursday morning.