24 January,2024 09:25 AM IST | Gadchiroli | mid-day online correspondent
Representative Image/ PTI
Two women, of five, who went missing after a boat capsized in Ganpur village, at the border of Gadchiroli-Chandrapur districts in Maharashtra, were safely rescued. Per a report by news agency ANI, one woman died on the spot while the search for other women was underway.
According to the report, National Disaster Response Force rescue teams were engaged as soon as the police and district administration got the wind of the incident. The search for missing women has been taken up on war footing.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, in a social media post, condoled the death of the woman and assured the kin of the deceased will be provided financial aid.
"In a tragic boat accident in Ganpur, on the border of Chandrapur-Gadchiroli district, one woman has perished and two ladies have been rescued. Search operations is being carried out on war footing for the five missing ladies. Rescue teams from the NDRF and district police have been dispatched and are in contact with the district and police administration. I offer my condolences to the people who perished in this tragedy. We are mourning this tragic occasion with his family. The relatives of the deceased will receive financial support from the state government," Fadnavis wrote.
Further probe into the incident is underway.
Meanwhile, in a similar incident from Vadodara, 14 persons, including 12 children, had died. The Gujarat Police, which was conducting a probe into the incident, has now arrested Vineet Kotia, the contractor of Kotia Projects, in connection with the boat capsize incident. A total of seven accused have been taken into custody with Kotia's apprehension.
According to Deputy Commissioner of Police Panna Momaya, Kotia, who was in charge of the primary project, was captured in Vadodara after evading capture outside of Gujarat, reported ANI.
According to the report, in addition to summoning the Pune boat vendor, attempts are being made to take the properties of other accused individuals who have absconded. An FIR was previously filed against eighteen persons, exposing that the boat was overcrowded, with 27 people on board when it was only meant to hold 14. It is reported that neither life jackets nor safety instructions were given to the passengers.
On January 18, the victims, who included students and instructors from New Sunrise School in Waghodia, were on a school picnic when a tragic event occurred. Twelve children and two instructors died. Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel paid a visit to the injured victims, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh for the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund.
The Gujarat government has also given Rs 4 lakh apiece for the relatives of the deceased and Rs 50,000 each for those injured. President Droupadi Murmu extended his deepest sympathies, grieving the loss of life and hoping for the success of the ongoing rescue mission.
