HC seeks Odisha govt reply on number, fitness of boats in 2 weeks

Sambad English Bureau Published On : Mar 12, 2014 at 1:07 AM

Odisha Sun Times Bureau

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The Odisha High Court on Tuesday directed the Odisha government to reply within two weeks on how many boats in Odisha had licenses to operate and what steps it has taken to verify the fitness of boats.

The court was conducting a hearing on the February 9 boat tragedy in Hirakud dam in which 31 precious lives were lost.

It may be mentioned here that on February 13, a Division Bench of Justices Indrajit Mohanti and Biswanath Mohapatra of the High Court had taken suo motu cognizance of the Hirakud boat tragedy and had admitted the matter as a public interest litigation.

The Sambalpur district administration is already conducting a survey of the existing ferry services along the Mahanadi river -including the Hirakud reservoir – from March 1. The survey will continue till March 15.