Agra: A day after a motorised boat carrying 37 pilgrims – mainly from Ludhiana – collided with a pontoon bridge and capsized in the Yamuna river in Mathura district, the death toll went up to 11 on Saturday even as efforts were on to find the remaining four missing devotees.According to police, seven of a family — mostly distant relatives — were among the dead. The pilgrims were on a visit to religious sites in Mathura-Vrindavan area. They had arrived on April 9.After the tragic incident, an FIR was registered under BNS section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) against boatman Pappu Nishad (38) and contractor Narayan Sharma (58). Both were arrested on Saturday. Police said Sharma was responsible for the pontoon bridge’s removal work.UP deputy CM Brajesh Pathak said, “Orders for a high-level inquiry have been issued.” Mathura DM CP Singh added, “We will address the shortcomings and fix accountability. ADM has been assigned to probe the tragic incident.”Incidentally, residents blamed the boatman for “speeding”. He was advised to slow down, but he ignored it. “As part of the Yamuna riverfront project, a pontoon bridge was being removed. Area was not restricted; no safety norms were followed.
The motorised boat was speeding,” said Mohar Singh, another boatman who rescued pilgrims from the river.“After the collision, the boat started moving uncontrollably. Pilgrims shifted to a corner and began to panic, causing the boat to tilt and overturn in the river,” an eyewitness said.Meanwhile, PM Narendra Modi announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the next of kin of each deceased, while the injured would get Rs 50,000. All the bodies were sent to Punjab, and CM Bhagwant Mann took part in some of their last rites in Ludhiana.
Mann had spoken to his UP counterpart, Yogi Adityanath, earlier on Friday.Mathura SP (rural) Suresh Chandra Rawat told TOI: “One more body was found around 800m away from the incident site. The victim belonged to Punjab’s Abohar and his family was present when rescue teams found him.”In all, eight teams of NDRF, five of SDRF, three PAC and six private diver teams were pressed into the search operation since last night, Rawat added.
