News Analysis India

Tag: Brahmaputra river

  • Assam boat capsize tragedy: Body of missing Circle Officer recovered

    By ANI

    DHUBRI: The body of the missing Circle Officer in Assam’s Dhubri boat incident was recovered on Sunday, 72 hours after the mishap.

    Gaurav Abhijit Dilip, Superintendent of Police of Dhubri district told ANI that, the recovered body has been identified as the missing Circle Officer Sanju Das.

    “The body was recovered by the search and rescue teams on Sunday morning,” Gaurav Abhijit Dilip said.

    A mechanised country boat carrying 29 passengers capsized in the Brahmaputra river after hitting a post of a bridge at Bhashanir in Assam’s Dhubri district along the Indo-Bangladesh border on September 29.

    Following the incident, the search and rescue teams of SDRF, BSF, and Police with the help of locals rescued 28 persons, but the Circle Officer of Dhubri went missing.

    A country-made boat carrying at least 50 people on board capsized in the Brahmaputra River in Assam’s Dhubri district on Thursday.

    DHUBRI: The body of the missing Circle Officer in Assam’s Dhubri boat incident was recovered on Sunday, 72 hours after the mishap.

    Gaurav Abhijit Dilip, Superintendent of Police of Dhubri district told ANI that, the recovered body has been identified as the missing Circle Officer Sanju Das.

    “The body was recovered by the search and rescue teams on Sunday morning,” Gaurav Abhijit Dilip said.

    A mechanised country boat carrying 29 passengers capsized in the Brahmaputra river after hitting a post of a bridge at Bhashanir in Assam’s Dhubri district along the Indo-Bangladesh border on September 29.

    Following the incident, the search and rescue teams of SDRF, BSF, and Police with the help of locals rescued 28 persons, but the Circle Officer of Dhubri went missing.

    A country-made boat carrying at least 50 people on board capsized in the Brahmaputra River in Assam’s Dhubri district on Thursday.

  • Assam boat collision: 84 passengers found alive, 2 missing 

    By PTI

    JORHAT/GUWAHATI: Overnight search and rescue operations established contacts with 84 persons, who were travelling on the ill-fated boat that capsized in the Brahmaputra river in Assam, but two persons are still missing, officials said on Thursday morning.

    One person was confirmed dead after a private boat heading to Majuli sank on Wednesday evening, following a head-on collision with a government-owned ferry near Nimati Ghat in Jorhat district.

    The wreckage of the boat, which was found overturned around 1.5 km downstream of the mighty Brahmaputra, was cut open from the base by NDRF and SDRF divers, but no body was found inside it, Jorhat Deputy Commissioner Ashok Barman told PTI.

    “So far, one person is confirmed dead and two persons are missing. We could do contact tracing of 84 persons to different villages in Jorhat and Majuli districts. This adds up to the presence of 87 passengers on the boat,” he added.

    Jorhat’s Superintendent of Police Ankur Jain said the two missing persons hail from Jorhat and Lakhimpur districts, and search operation is still going on with divers from the NDRF and SDRF with backup of the Army.

    “The divers on Thursday morning also went inside the boat, but could not find any bodies. Army divers will also search the area. Air Force will carry out an aerial survey downstream to locate the missing persons,” he said.

    Jorhat Medical College and Hospital’s Superintendent Purnima Barua said 11 passengers were admitted to the hospital, of whom one died and three were released.

    “Seven persons are still undergoing treatment, but none of them are critical. More than physical injury, they are in mental trauma,” she said.

    The deceased was identified as Parimita Das, who hailed from Guwahati and was working as a faculty at Rangachahi College in Majuli.

    Officials of Inland Water Transport (IWT) Department said private boat ‘Ma Kamala’ was heading to Majuli from Nimati Ghat on the southern bank with passengers and vehicles, while government ferry ‘MB Tipkai’ was coming from the world’s largest river island when the two collided.

    As ‘Ma Kamala’ was run by private parties, they did not have any system to give tickets to passengers.

    So, the initial estimate of the passengers on board varied from 80 to 150 as per eyewitness accounts.

    Transport Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary, who reached the site at around 3 am, said many heads will roll after the inquiry by Transport Secretary Jadav Saikia is complete.

    “Already three officials of the IWT are suspended. Besides, 72 more IWT staffers were present at Nimati Ghat when the accident took place. Why was the boat allowed to leave when another ferry was coming at a high speed? There must be some fault of our staff,” he said.

    Along with Patowary, state ministers Bimal Bora and Jogen Mohan were also camping at the site to oversee the search and rescue operations.

    Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma visited Nimati Ghat and toured the river on a boat to assess the on-ground situation.

    Officials of the IWT Department said only one ramp of Nimati Ghat is functioning at present as water level in Brahmaputra is high due to monsoon rains.

    “As only one ramp is operational, any outgoing ferry has to give way to the incoming one. Ma Kamala had to leave the ghat to give way to Tipkai. While it went just a few metres, the two collided,” an official said.

  • Brahmaputra water level rising, parts of Kaziranga inundated

    By PTI
    NAGAON: The water levels of the mighty Brahmaputra River and its tributaries are gradually rising, inundating parts of Kaziranga National Park in Assam, officials said on Friday.

    However, no damages have been reported so far.

    Wild animals of Kaziranga National Park were seen moving to higher grounds by crossing National Highway 37.

    To minimise the risk of animals getting hit by speeding vehicles, the Kaliabor sub-division administration under Nagaon district on Friday imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 (1) of CrPC in the area from Amguri to Bagori, including the highway stretch running through it.

    As per the prohibitory orders, the speed of the vehicles must not exceed 40 kmph and assembly of five or more persons shall not take place.

    Parking heavy vehicles in front of dhabas or restaurants and stopping light motor vehicles in the area at night without any valid reason or honking horns loudly is prohibited, an official release said.

    Emergency services, including police, military, forest officials and COVID duty personnel, have been exempted from the purview of the order.

  • External Affairs minister S Jaishankar ​ visits Japan-funded water supply project in Guwahati

    By ANI
    GUWAHATI: External Affairs minister S Jaishankar on Monday visited the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)-funded Guwahati water supply project site along the Brahmaputra river in Guwahati.

    Jaishankar also reviewed the progress of the project that is being funded by Japan along with Japanese Ambassador to India Satoshi Suzuki. Speaking at an event here, he said: “Our presence today not only reflects the strong cooperation we have with Japan, but actually underlines how this India-Japan partnership can really make a difference.”

    Mentioning that the world has experienced a profound change in the last two decades, the minister stressed on enhancing India’s ability to harness international partnerships for national growth and development. “While expanding cooperation in South East Asia, East Asia and North Asia in different dimensions, the Modi government actually took this initiative to a much higher level. It includes numerous connectivity projects and activities as well as economic flows and strategic cooperation,” he added.

    While speaking on Assam’s crucial role in international partnerships, Jaishankar said: “Assam has long been the bridge between India and the world to our east. The advent of colonialism and the subsequent emergence of nation-states had effectively disrupted seamless connection between eastern India and Assam and the world to our east. For centuries, its natural arteries have facilitated the flow of people, of goods, of ideas, not just to Southeast Asia, but also as far as Korea and Japan.”

    He also said a close India-Japan collaboration has always had a central place in India’s national modernisation and development efforts as Japan was the original model for the revival of a nation after colonialism.

    Visited #Guwahati Water Supply project site with @DrSJaishankar. Japan is pleased to support this important project. Clean water will soon flow to the homes in Guwahati #Assam! #JapanIndia #ODA pic.twitter.com/1r3clekzdq
    — Satoshi Suzuki (@EOJinIndia) February 15, 2021

    Meanwhile, Suzuki had earlier taken to Twitter to announce about his visit to Assam. “Visited #Guwahati Water Supply project site with @DrSJaishankar. Japan is pleased to support this important project. Clean water will soon flow to the homes in Guwahati #Assam! #JapanIndia #ODA,” he tweeted.

  • Have urged China to maintain downstream states’ interests: Government on Brahmaputra dam reports

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The government on Wednesday said it has taken note of reports on China’s plans for hydropower development on the lower reaches of the Brahmaputra river, and asserted it has consistently conveyed its concerns to the Chinese authorities, urging them to ensure that the interests of downstream states are not harmed by any activities in upstream areas.

    In a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha, MoS External Affairs V Muraleedharan said the Chinese side has conveyed to India on several occasions that they are only undertaking run-of-the-river hydropower projects, which do not involve diversion of the waters of the Brahmaputra.

    Asked whether China is working on a proposal for constructing a big dam before the Indian border on Brahmaputra river in Tibet, he said, “Government has taken note of reports regarding China’s plans for hydropower development on the lower reaches of the Brahmaputra river.”

    Asserting that the government carefully monitors all developments on the Brahmaputra river, he said that as a lower riparian state, with considerable established user rights to the waters of the trans-border rivers, India has consistently conveyed its views and concerns to the Chinese authorities, and has urged them to ensure that the interests of downstream states are not harmed by any activities in upstream areas.

    “The Chinese side has conveyed to us on several occasions that they are only undertaking run-of-the-river hydropower projects, which do not involve diversion of the waters of the Brahmaputra,” Muraleedharan said.

    He said that various issues relating to trans-border rivers are discussed with China under the ambit of an institutionalized Expert Level Mechanism which was established in 2006, as well as through diplomatic channels. “We intend to remain engaged with China on the issue of trans-border rivers to safeguard our interests,” he added.

    To a separate question on 39 Indian crew members stuck on cargo ships near Chinese ports for months, Muraleedharan said 23 Indian crew members were on board an Indian ship MV Jag Anand that was anchored near Jingtang port, China since June 13, 2020, while 16 were on board another ship MV Anastasia, which is on anchorage near Caofeidian port in China since September 20, 2020.

    He said that the two ships could not offload their cargo and carry out crew rotation due to the strict regulations introduced by  China in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. The owners of MV Jag Anand decided to undertake crew change in Chiba, Japan.

    He said that the ship carried out crew change in Chiba, Japan on January 18, 2021 and all the 23 crew members who were on board MV Jag Anand have since arrived in India. “As regards MV Anastasia, our Embassy continues to be in touch with the Chinese authorities as well as the shipping company to work out the modalities of crew change at port at the earliest,” he said.