Chilika lake boat capsize toll rises to six

Bhubaneswar, Jun 17
The death toll in the boat tragedy at Chilika lake in Odisha rose to six on Sunday after four more bodies were fished out by rescue personnel.
The boat ferrying 16 people had capsized on Saturday evening after a thunderstorm lashed Asia's biggest brackishwater lake.
Fire personnel managed to rescue 10 persons and recovered the bodies of a minor girl and her mother on Saturday night. The bodies of the four who were missing were found on Sunday morning.
Chief minister Naveen Patnaik has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh for the kin of the deceased and free medical treatment for the injured.
The mishap occurred at 6 pm when the boat from Ranapur area of Nayagarh district was returning from Kalijai island to Balugaon, chief fire officer Sukanta Sethi said.
Most of the passengers were locals who had gone to Maa Kalijai temple.
Rabi Narayan Das, who lost his wife Sradhhanjali and daughter Pramodini, said, “After we had darshan of Kalijai Goddess, the boatman asked us to hurry as it had started getting cloudy. While returning, our boat overturned. I could see my wife and daughter struggling in the water but was helpless.”
Additional chief executive of Chilika Development Authority, Sasmita Lenka said the boat should have left before 5 pm as there was a warning for thunderstorm.
An official said though the boats operating in the lake were licensed, many of them were not fit to be on water. “In many cases, the centre of gravity was not correct. Many of the boats have very old engines which stop in the midst and have to be hauled by another boat,” said the official.
There were no life jackets too in the boat. Officials said the water was hardly 6–7-ft deep at the place where it capsized. “The boat had no anchor as well, which could have helped the boatman steady the boat during inclement weather,” said the official.
In 2016, four persons had drowned to death when a boat capsized in Chilika lake. After the tragedy, the state government had amended the Odisha Boat Rules making life jackets mandatory for all boats. It also made it mandatory for all passengers travelling in a licensed boat to be covered by life insurance.