This story is from September 19, 2019

Kakinada port order under scanner

Kakinada port order under scanner
Hyderabad: A blanket order issued by the ports officer, Kakinada, based on a flood contingency plan issued by river conservator a fortnight ago on movement of tourism boats has now come under the scanner after the boat tragedy near Devipatnam in East Godavari district. Curiously, the irrigation department said there was no flood in river Godavari on the day of mishap, September 15.
A circular of the Andhra Pradesh ports department (a copy of which TOI is in possession) says traffic can be restored above Dowleswaram barrage when water level falls below 11 feet.
According to the official data, the water level at Dowleswaram barrage was only 11 ft and discharge was 4.99 lakh cusecs.
Interestingly, the circular was issued by the ports department on August 30 based on a representation by Bhadradri Papikondalu Boat Operators Welfare Society. It was later sent to all boat owners associations and the AP tourism department in Vijayawada.
Based on the circular, the boat owners’ association is now arguing that it was not their fault to operate the boat as the focus has shifted to the two boat drivers, who were dead in the mishap. The association and the irrigation department are blaming the drivers for their inexperience in handling the boat in times of river turbulence and whirlpool.
G Murali of Sir Arthur Cotton Boat Owners’ Association said, “We checked with the irrigation department and they informed that there was no flood. So, we operated the boat.”
Executive engineer, Godavari headworks division, Dowleswaram and river conservator R Mohan Rao told TOI that there was no flood on the day of the boat tragedy. “As per the flood manual, if the discharge is 10 lakh cusecs, restrictions are imposed on movement of boats. The water level should be above 11 ft. At 6 am on Sunday, the water level was 7.6 ft and at noon, it was 7.3 ft,” he recalled.

“It rained in the area and there was turbulence in the river. Water level in Bhadradri had increased by 1 ft. The two drivers, who were brought from Kakinada, were experienced in sea waters and not in the river waters. On the sea, they have to tackle waves. The river may look normal, but there is a lot of velocity and current. The drivers had also failed to avoid the whirlpool,” Mohan Rao explained.
He said even if the discharge is just three lakh cusecs, mishaps can occur if drivers fail to control the boat in turbulence. “We are working on changing the flood manual where boats will not be allowed if the discharge is above 5 lakh cusecs,” he said. While the tourism department washed its hands of the tragedy, the ports department said it was only a licensing authority. “We alert the district authorities and revenue officials on WhatsApp on flood levels,” Rao said.
End of Article
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA