At least six major boat tragedies have been reported in the State since 2002 claiming the lives of scores of people, including children. Although judicial panels set up after such incidents have recommended safety guidelines, government departments have been lethargic in following them.
Twenty-nine people died when a boat travelling between Muhamma in Alappuzha and Kumarakom in Kottayam sank in Vembanad Lake on July 27, 2002. A pleasure trip to Thattekad near the Bhoothathankettu Dam in Idukki by a group of school students and teachers from Ernakulam turned tragic when their boats capsized on February 20, 2007. Eighteen people died in the incident.
The biggest-ever tragedy so far was reported around two years later when 45 people, including seven children, in a Jalakanyaka tourist boat in Thekkadi Lake died in an accident on September 30, 2009. On November 4 the same year, a country boat capsized at Moorkkanad in Malappuram claiming the lives of eight schoolchildren. Another major tragedy was reported on August 26, 2015, when a passenger boat travelling from Vypin to Fort Cochin was hit by a fishing boat at Fort Cochin. Eleven people died in the incident. The tragedy at Tanur on Sunday, in which 22 people died, is the sixth on the list.
Key recommendations
Though a judicial panel set up after the Thattekkad tragedy had submitted a report, recommending legislation on inland water transport and inclusion of swimming training in the extra-curricular activities in schools, most of them were not implemented. The report also sought cancellation of licences of old boats.
The judicial panel that inquired into the Thekkadi tragedy had pointed out that the use of unscientifically made fibre boats was dangerous. Officials of the Tourism department and the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation were squarely blamed for the fiasco. There were no life-saving jackets in the boat involved in the tragedy. Also, the number of passengers was over and above the permissible limit. The panel recommended the setting up of a State Maritime Board to prevent recurrence of similar tragedies. No action, however, had been taken on this. Though the judicial panel set up after the Kumarakom tragedy had recommended appointing a commissioner to ensure safety of water transport services, it was not implemented.
The government has again declared a judicial probe into the Tanur tragedy as well. It remains to be seen if its recommendations
