Jorhat/Guwahati: Several people are feared dead after a large private boat rammed into a government boat near Nimati Ghat in the Brahmaputra river in Assam’s Jorhat district on Wednesday. Officials gave this information. At the same time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has condoled this new accident in Assam.
The collision took place when the private boat ‘Ma Kamala’ was on its way from Nimati Ghat to Majuli and the state-owned boat ‘Tripkai’ was coming from Majuli, officials said.
An official of the Inland Water Transport (IWT) department said, “Ma Kamala’s boat capsized and sank. We don’t have much information at the moment.” Another IWT official said there were over 120 passengers on the boat, but many of them were rescued with the help of the department-owned ‘Tripkai’ ferry.
Jorhat Deputy Commissioner Ashok Burman told PTI that so far 41 people have been rescued and no bodies have been found so far. A senior official of the Jorhat district administration said, “We are yet to say how many people have died.” The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and SDRF personnel have launched a search and rescue operation. There were also several four-wheelers and two-wheelers in the boat, which fell into the river.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma expressed concern over the accident and directed the district administrations of Majuli and Jorhat to expedite the rescue operation with the help of NDRF and SDRF.
He also asked Minister Bimal Bora to go to the accident site. Sarma asked Sameer Kumar Sinha, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, to monitor the developments round the clock. “The Chief Minister himself will visit Nimti Ghat tomorrow to take stock of the situation,” the CMO said in a statement.
Prime Minister Modi expressed grief
Prime Minister Modi has also condoled the boat accident. The PM tweeted, “Saddened by the boat accident in Assam. Every effort is being made to save the passengers. I pray for everyone’s safety and well-being.”
