Barpeta: Over 100 people, returning after watching a boat race, had a miraculous escape on Monday night after the single-engine bhutbhuti (mechanised country boat) they were travelling in capsized in the Beki in lower Assam's Barpeta district after hitting a pillar of a bridge, in a throwback to last Wednesday's boat tragedy at north Guwahati in the Brahmaputra in which four persons were killed.
The incident came hours after transport minister Chandra Mohan Patowary banned bhutbhutis on the rivers of Assam until further orders during a review meeting held in Guwahati on Monday with the officials of the Directorate of Inland Water Transport.
Patowary also directed at the meeting that single-engine boats should be converted into double-engine ones with reversible gears. He also said every boat must have a life jacket for every passenger and it would be mandatory for each passenger to put it on while boarding the vessel. He instructed the deputy commissioners to conduct safety audits of ferry vessels.
The three-hour meeting ended at 4pm, almost coinciding with the time a minor fell into a tributary of the Brahmaputra in Goalpara district when the boat the family was travelling in capsized. Three hours later, at about 7pm, the Beki mishap took place.
The Beki mishap passengers, mostly from Goliya and Gourimari villages, were returning from Kalgachia under Baghbar Assembly constituency. More than 15 passengers were injured. The passengers said the engine of the boat developed a snag after which the boat was swept by currents towards the east end of the bridge and hit the second pillar.
Hakim Ali, who swam ashore, said, "The boat was returning from Baghbar. When it reached Kararkur, the engine stop-ped. The boat then hit a pillar of the RCC bri-dge that connects the east and west bank of the Beki, and capsized. It was a close shave."
Another survivor, Mamudar Rahman, said the engine fan suddenly stopped working after which the boatman could not control the bhutbhuti because of the heavy current of the river and hit the pillar.
