Miscellaneous - This Day That Age   

dated June 26, 1957: Godavari Boat Disaster

The five-man Enquiry Committee appointed by the Andhra Pradesh Government to investigate the boat disaster that occurred near Bhadrachalam in the Godavari river on April 10 last resulting in the death of 201 persons, has found that no one officer could be blamed for the accident, it is learnt.

It was more due to the system under which the ferry was auctioned on the Andhra side by the District Board and by the Revenue Department on the Hyderabad side, and both had no regular arrangement for inspection of the boats used on the ferry. The Enquiry Committee is understood to have expressed the opinion that the accident could, perhaps, have been avoided, if the boatmen had not stopped the ferry boats in mid-stream to collect higher fares from the passengers on board.

The Committee, it is learnt, has absolved the policemen on bandobust duty as they had done their best under the circumstances to check crowding in the boats. A major suggestion of the Committee, it is understood, is the construction of a bridge over the Godavari at Bhadrachalam. Apart from the huge pilgrim traffic to the Sri Rama temple built by Saint Ramadas, the daily traffic has also increased on the spot.

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