Jamtara Boat Accident: Chief Minister announced, the families of those who lost their lives due to boat capsizing will get Rs 4 lakh

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Four lakh rupees each will be given to the families of those who lost their lives when a boat capsized in the Barakar river in Jamtara district. Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has announced this on Monday. On the evening of February 24, the boat capsized near the Barbendiya bridge in the Barakar river on the Jamtara-Dhanbad border. Many people had gone missing in the accident. So far, bodies of eight people have been recovered.

Responding to the question of BJP MLA from Nirsa Aparna Sengupta during the assembly session, the Chief Minister said that Rs 4 lakh each would be given to the families of those killed in the accident by the Disaster Management Department.

According to local residents, 17 people were on board the boat at the time of the accident, out of which five were rescued. At the same time, many leaders of opposition parties said that the accident could have been avoided had the Barbandia bridge been operational on the river. Due to the non-completion of the repair work of the bridge, people are taking the help of the waterway to cross the river.

Hemant Soren said that according to the demand of the BJP MLA, the government will soon study for the construction of a bridge over the river. Based on this, the size and budget of the bridge will be decided.

After the accident, teams of National Disaster Response Force from Ranchi and Deoghar were engaged in locating the missing people. It may be noted that two pillars of the Barbandia Bridge were damaged due to the 2009 floods.

Sengupta further said that in 2014 a high-level team from the state government had visited the site to conduct an assessment. But even after this no step was taken.