By IANS,
Thekkady (Kerala) : Exactly a year ago, 45 people died when a Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) boat sank at the Wild Life Reserve here around 3.30 p.m. But the judicial inquiry into the accident is yet to begin and the Crime Branch of the state police has not found the cause of the tragedy.
The boat carried 87 passengers against its capacity of 76. The toll would have been more if the locals had not acted promptly.
The state government then announced a judicial probe but it is yet to begin, while the Crime Branch has reached a dead end after arresting six people.
The arrested include surveyor K.K. Sanjeev, official of the boat manufacturing firm N.A. Giri, boat driver Victor Samuel, his assistant, a forest guard and chief boat inspector M. Mathews.
All the six are currently on bail and Samuel lost his job despite working as a driver for more than a decade with the KTDC.
“I work at a home stay and I earn very little. I have to make both ends meet and take care of my aged mother. Life is indeed tough,” said Samuel.
Boating here resumed 106 days after the tragedy, but tourists who prefer to go for boating face lots of problems for stringent check up.