Bijapur, Chhattisgarh brought somber news as search efforts concluded with the recovery of the last victim from the Indravati River, where a boat accident claimed an entire family’s life. The remote district, plagued by Naxal threats and geographical isolation, witnessed yet another preventable loss.
Seventy-year-old Bhado, the family’s eldest member, was located on Saturday, snagged in vegetation nearly a kilometer from where the boat flipped. The previous day saw 25-year-old Sunita Kawasi pulled from 500 meters downstream. Earlier recoveries included 45-year-old Podia clutched to her toddler son Rakesh with a towel—a poignant symbol of maternal desperation amid the chaos.
Podia, her young son Rakesh, daughter-in-law Sunita, and grandfather Bhado form the list of fatalities. The towel-bound bodies of mother and child evoke the raw agony of their last moments battling the relentless current.
Adding to the sorrow, family head Sannu is out of reach. Working as a laborer in neighboring Andhra Pradesh, he’s unreachable due to spotty connectivity in these insurgent-hit woods, complicating efforts to inform him.
Returning from Uspari’s weekly haat, the ill-fated boat with over ten aboard succumbed to the Indravati’s fierce flow, capsizing and drowning four. Without bridges or proper paths in Abujhmad’s shadow, wooden ferries are the sole lifeline for villagers—a risky dependence exposed once again.
Local seniors lament the river’s deadly history, particularly after rains when its temperament shifts to rage. Anti-Maoist camps have bolstered safety somewhat, but crumbling infrastructure in tribal pockets keeps communities vulnerable. Urgent investments in connectivity could avert future heartbreaks.