Villagers travel in an overcrowded boat on Kosi, near Sanpatha village in Supaul. Picture by Amit Kumar

Supaul/Saharsa, Aug. 28: Khap Tola resident Chandradev Yadav has blamed the state government for ignoring the transportation problems in flood-ravaged Kosi region that led to the death of his two sons after the boat, in which they were travelling, capsized.

More than 19 residents of Khap Tola village were on their way to Saraigarh Bhaptiahi block headquarters to get their photograph taken for the proposed health card scheme for children when their boat overturned near Gouripatti under Saraigarh Bhaptiahi block of Supaul district on August 26.

The body of one of Chandradev’s sons, Nitish, 4, was fished out. But the body of his other son, six-year-old Dilip, is yet to be recovered. Two others, Anish (2) and Sumit Kumar (3) also drowned in Kosi.

Rakha Devi, a survivor of the boat mishap, said: “Our village has become a island because of the frequent floods. As there is no other mode of transportation in the region, we have to depend on boats. I somehow managed to save my one-year-old son Manish. But my other son, Anish, disappeared.”

Khap Tola residents, however, are not the sole victims of boat mishaps. The river has claimed lives of several villagers in Supaul and Saharsa. The villages in these districts have turned into islands after the 2008 floods. Many villages are completely cut-off and they have received no help except assurances from the authorities. This year, situation has turned worse, especially for those villagers who live near the embankments of the river. They have to risk the treacherous waves on boats everyday to reach their destinations, as the swift currents of the river have washed away many of the makeshift bamboo bridges. Most of the villagers blame the state government for the lack of transportation facility that has endangered their lives.

“Residents of more than over 90 panchayats in the Kosi region are isolated as the bridges, which were washed away in the 2008 floods, have not been repaired or reconstructed. The villagers live virtually on islands. They have no communication with the outside world and have to brave the river everyday,” said Vijay, a social activist in Saharsa.

Ankit Kumar, a resident of Sanpatha under Nirmali sub-division, said: “There are very few boats but many people who want to travel. So, the boat operators do not care much for the safety and security of the travellers. Some of the boatmen are not technically sound, so the boats are always at the risk of capsizing.”

He added that in 2009 five people lost their lives in a boat mishap near the under-construction pillar of a road bridge across Kosi. Ten villagers, including six children, from Kua Tola under Maraina block in Supaul district, lost their lives when their boat capsized in 2010. The villagers were on their way to a community feast.

“Despite such incidents we have to continue travelling on boats almost everyday,” said Anandi Yadav, a resident of Kua Tola.

Kumar Ravi, the district magistrate of Supaul, was not available for comments. Mithilesh Kumar Yadav, the circle officer of Saraighar Bhaptiahi block, told reporters that earlier the district administration had banned the plying of small boats on Kosi.

Villagers, however, have no other option but to travel on such frail vessels.