Advocate Mani Bhushan Pratap Sengar filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in Patna High Court on Monday seeking an inquiry by an independent agency into the boat tragedy on Makar Sankranti in which 24 persons lost their lives after the vessel capsized.
The PIL sought to prosecute guilty persons responsible for the tragedy, thereby initiating criminal proceedings against them.
It has also raised questions over the state's authority to arrange festivals on such a large scale without taking appropriate security measures.
The petition reads: "As more than thirty thousand people had gathered at Sabbalpur Diara, the mode of transportation was boats only. There was no appropriate arrangement for the safety, transportation and convenience of people gathered for the kite festival. There was very less number of boats which was arranged by the state government for the people to ferry them to the diara area, as a result of which people were forced to use private boats."
Sengar said the announcement made by the organisers at 3pm for immediate return of revellers to Patna as boat services will not be available after 4pm made people eager to return, causing overloading of the boat with 70 persons climbing aboard that had a capacity of only 30 persons.
The security lapses pointed out by the petitioner in the PIL are as following: (1) On both sides of River Ganga divers were not deputed (2) there was shortage of boats keeping in view thousands of people who have gathered in the diara area (3) Neither police nor administration had attempted to stop overloading on private boats and (4) The boat of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) was engaged only in the services of senior officials.
The petitioner has questioned the probe by the state government stating that it would be an eyewash as no one can judge his/her own act and accused the government of not taking any lessons from past tragedies when in 2012, 18 persons had died during Chhath celebrations due to stampede and again during Dussehra celebrations in 2014 when 33 people lost their lives at Gandhi Maidan again due to stampede.
