Devipatnam Survivors share their horrifying experience

Visakhapatnam: The sorrowful boat mishap at Devipatnam Mandal in Godavari river might appear to end with the extraction of the bodies and treatment to the survivors. But the gaping holes in the entire system needs a thorough look if one were to go by the heart-rending scenes narrated by the survivors who had a miraculous escape from the deadly accident.

The boat tragedy at Katchuluru in East Godavari district, that claimed as many as 34 lives till date and 13 more reported to be missing, could have been avoided if all the safety measures were in place.

There are at least four chinks in the armour that either need to be addressed or requires a solid explanation.

Apart from human negligence, lack of navigation route maps from the origin spot to Papikondalu, the inexperience of boat operator on duty appear to be the possible reasons taking a turbulent route, inviting trouble. Generally, boat operators are supposed to avoid taking that particular route, which the ill-fated Royal Vasishta took on that day.

Going by factors such as the turbulence, swirling nature of water, colliding with the rock-like formation, the depth of the river at the spot, which is known to be dangerous, boat operators avoid the spot and opt for the other route. However, the inexperience of the driver on duty is believed to have wreaked havoc. Overload of tourists beyond the permissible limit is cited to be another factor for the mishap quoted by the survivors.

A survivor recalled that a majority of passengers had removed their life jackets and the boat crew was not really serious about this violation. As the turbulent spot arrived, she mentioned that a crew member asked the tourists to 'stay careful' but did not explicitly instruct them to wear the life jackets which eventually proved to be an expensive mistake.