As many as twelve school children and two teachers were killed after a boat capsized in Vadodara’s Harni Motnath Lake on January 18. A total of 20 people have been rescued in the operation.
“12 school children and two teachers died in the incident. 20 people were rescued and 14 people died. To ensure justice to them, the Chief Minister has ordered a strong inquiry and IPC sections 304, 308 and 114 have been invoked against the accused. Two accused have been nabbed and a magisterial inquiry has been handed over to Vadodara District Collector,” Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi told media.
Harsh Sanghavi further stated that an FIR has been registered and teams have been formed to arrest the remaining accused.
FIR has been registered and 9 teams have been formed to arrest the accused. PM has announced Rs 2 Lakhs each for the next of kin of deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured. The State Government has announced Rs 4 Lakhs each for the next of kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured. State Government has announced Rs 4 Lakhs each for the next of kin of deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured,” he said.
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel arrived at the accident site of Harani Lake, inspected the relief and rescue operations and gave necessary instructions to mobilise the operation. He also visited the postmortem centre located at SSG hospital in Vadodara. He also met the families of the children who lost their lives in the boat capsize incident of Vadodara.
A relative of a child who was rescued, said, “They were being taken for a picnic. The children were not given safety wear (life jackets). The capacity of the boat was 12 but 27 people were seating there.” Vadodara District Magistrate will submit a detailed report to State Government within 10 days.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on January 18, called the incident ‘heart-wrenching’ and urged the State Government to expedite relief measures.
“The news of the death of many students, including teachers, due to the boat capsizing in Vadodara, Gujarat is extremely heart-wrenching. Many students are still reported missing in this accident. The Gujarat government and administration are requested to expedite the relief and rescue operations and make every possible effort to save the lives of the students. In this hour of grief, we stand with the bereaved families and express our deepest condolences,” Kharge said.
Vadodara MP Ranjanben Dhananjay Bhatt said that strict action will be taken in this regard.
“The NDRF team is carrying out the rescue operation. The children have been taken to different hospitals. Strict action will be taken in this matter,” Vadodara MP said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the loss of lives and also announced that an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given Rs 50,000.
“Distressed by the loss of lives due to a boat capsizing at the Harni lake in Vadodara. My thoughts are with the bereaved families in this hour of grief. May the injured recover soon. The local administration is providing all possible assistance to those affected.
An ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given Rs 50,000.
(with inputs from ANI)
