GUEST COLUMN
Vipul Dhasmana
Indian State Governments and Union Territories have not been able to completely implement The Inland Vessels (IV) Act 2021 and its rules along with time to time amendments in its true letter and spirit, as a result of which the safety of innocent passengers is often compromised. The effective implementation of this law is also vital for Uttarakhand where water sports and recreational activities are popular on the Ganga, Tehri dam reservoir and Naini lake, among other water bodies.
The Inland Waterways Authority of India which is the nodal agency to ensure compliance of Inland Vessels Act 2021 is trying its best to convince the States and Union Territories, only to face a blank wall. There is a huge gap in making of the law and implementing it on ground. The classic example of deliberate non-compliance of the provisions given to States and Union Territories in IV Act 2021 was reflected recently in Madhya Pradesh, resulting as the infamous cruise boat tragedy which occurred on April 30, where an inland passenger vessel named ‘Narmada Queen’ capsized in the Bargi Dam reservoir near Jabalpur, resulting in 13 deaths.
The photo of a mother clutching her child, both dead, was heart breaking and elicited considerable public criticism. Narmada Queen was reportedly carrying 31 people on board, including tourists and crew on the last fatal journey. As per the survivors, a sudden severe storm with strong winds and high waves hit the operational area despite a meteorological yellow alert, causing the boat to lose balance and overturn.
Local villagers, fishermen and Jal Jeevan Mission workers rescued several people initially. Later, the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Army divers rescued survivors and recovered bodies. According to them, it was heartbreaking to witness that the rescuers found a mother and her four-year-old son locked in a final embrace, both shielded under a single life jacket.
Safety was violated as survivors reported that the crew abandoned the vessel early and that life jackets were not distributed until after the boat began taking on water. Such aspects raised questions at the preparedness of rescue and importantly the overall watertight integrity of the vessel.
The cruise was operating without mandatory insurance coverages or proper environmental clearances, indicating utmost administrative failure.
The State government immediately put on hold all cruise services, suspending the master and crew of Narmada Queen and Tourism department hospitality officials.
According to citizens, footage from inside the vessel shows the unfolding crisis and safety oversights. The Narmada Queen was intentionally broken into pieces on the pretext of search and rescue of passengers during unprofessional salvaging thus destroying crucial evidence which could prove the stability and serviceability of the uncertified cruise boat, as per the previous and existing Inland Vessels Acts.
Madhya Pradesh Judicial Inquiry Commission, tasked with probing the tragic Bargi Dam cruise boat accident will file its report which will be submitted to the State government, soon. The one-member commission, headed by retired High Court judge justice Sanjay Dwivedi was officially constituted by the State government under Section 3 of the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952, on May 10 and given three months time to complete its probe.
Earlier, a division bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court comprising chief justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and justice Vinay Saraf, disposed of several Public Interest Litigations (PILs) filed after the tragedy. The court closed the PILs because the State government had already initiated the independent judicial inquiry and instituted immediate safety audits. The High Court granted petitioners the liberty to submit evidence, representations, and safety suggestions directly to the justice Sanjay Dwivedi commission.
Earlier, a district court in Jabalpur took suo motu cognisance of the capsizing of Namada Queen and directed the Bargi police station to register an FIR against the boat driver and cruise operators for their criminal negligence.
The scope of the judicial inquiry includes five primary areas of investigation. Firstly, investigating the explicit operational and environmental causes behind the cruise boat capsizing during the severe storm. Secondly, identifying specific individuals, crew members, or Madhya Pradesh Tourism Department officials responsible for any safety lapses. Thirdly, assessing whether immediate rescue and relief measures were adequate and properly executed. Fourthly, conducting strict compliance audits of all existing commercial boats, cruises, and water sports in Madhya Pradesh under the Inland Vessels Act, 2021. Fifthly, drafting a uniform Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and establishing Quick Response Teams (QRTs) across all public recreational water zones in the state.
All operations at boat clubs and cruise services across Madhya Pradesh remain suspended pending the formal clearance and structural safety audits mandated after the incident. Citizens, especially the families of those who died in this incident are eagerly waiting for the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh to reveal the findings of commission and announcing of the remedies for further non-occurrence of such tragedy including the compensation and most importantly fixing the responsibility on the officials who were responsible for implementation of the Inland Vessels Act 2021 despite of five years period gone by.
(The author is a certified marine consultant and surveyor who has also served Andaman and Nicobar administration as inland vessels chief surveyor; views are personal)
