Brahmaputra boat capsize: Four IWT officials suspended

Following the tragic incident of boat capsize in the river Brahmaputra, Transport Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary suspended four officials of the Inland Water Transport department. The suspended officers are Executive

Following the tragic incident of boat capsize in the river Brahmaputra, Transport Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary suspended four officials of the Inland Water Transport department.

The suspended officers are Executive Engineer Vikramaditya Choudhury, Guwahati Ferry Ghat in-charge Purnananda Das and two Section Officers – Dharmeswar Baishya and Jagadish Das.

#NEWSFLASH | 4 officials of the Inland Water Transport department were suspended for negligence in duty following the #BrahmaputraBoatCapsize incident.
The suspended officials are Bikramaditya Choudhury, Purnananda Das, Jagadish Das and Dharmeswar Baishya. pic.twitter.com/QfQQhDRZTO

— Northeast Live (@NELiveTV) September 6, 2018

Patowary stated that plying of mechanized country boats between North Guwahati and Guwahati on the Brahmaputra River has been suspended since Wednesday and this order will remain effective during the entire rainy season.

The Minister further said that ten additional buses of ASTC have been already introduced for communication purpose from North Guwahati to Guwahati and vice-versa for the people residing in North Guwahati.

The Transport Minister added that the Transport department is ready with a draft bill for constitution of a Regulatory Authority.

He said that Assam Inland Water Transport Reorganization Act will be placed before the Assam Legislative Assembly during the forthcoming session for approval.

The Bill will lead to the independent and strict regulation of the safety and enforcement measures related to ferry service in the rivers of the state including the Brahmaputra and the Barak.

Patowary further mentioned that three bodies namely, Regulatory Authority, Assam Shipping Company and Assam Port Company will be constituted under the ‘Assam Inland Water Transport Reorganization Act’ to restructure the IWT for better and effective public service.

COMMENTS