The Congress party in Assam has blamed the ruling Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) in the state for Wednesday's boat tragedy in the Brahmaputra river which led to the death of at least one person.
Assam Congress president Bhupen Borah today said that the BJP only cares about the votes in the constituency. "The BJP doesn't care about the promises it made during the elections. BJP only cares about the votes in the constituency," he said.
The Congress has also demanded the resignation of state inland water transport minister Chandra Mohan Patowary.
"The BJP-led state government has done enough of Bhumi Pujans and Namani Brahmaputras. Its time for the party and the government to do some real work," Mr Borah said in Guwahati.
Nearly 100 passengers were on board two boats when they crashed into each other at Nimati Ghat in in Jorhat district on Wednesday. One woman died, eight are undergoing treatment in hospitals after being rescued and two people have been reported missing. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said 87 people have been rescued till now.
Assam power minister Bimal Bora today faced protests organised by the public in Majuli district while visiting the river island to take stock of the boat accident. The police had to resort to mild baton charge to disperse the protesters, sources said.
The protesters in Majuli tried to block the minister's vehicle and raised slogans like "Bimal Bora go back."
"The Assam government is responsible for the incident because after many years, the work of the Majuli bridge has not started yet. Sarbananda Sonowal is the MLA from Majuli and in last five years, he has done nothing for Majuli. We want a bridge over Majuli to end such tragedies," said one of the protesters.
The Assam chief minister also visited Nimati Ghat today to take stock of the situation and said that single-engine ferries have been suspended following the accident. "Three officials of Inland Water Transport Department have been placed under suspension in this accident case," he said, adding that he has ordered the police to file a criminal case.
He said construction of Majuli bridge will start from November which will be completed in four years.
"I have asked the Jorhat Police to file a criminal case for the accident. By today evening, we will announce a high-level probe to find out the reasons behind the accident," Mr Sarma said. "I feel that due to major flaws on management the incident may have occurred. There are four government ferries at Nimatighat and we will send two more ferries from Guwahati," he added.
"The government of Assam is committed to passengers' safety and hassle-free movement of ferries between Kamalabari and Nimati Ghat. Number of passengers per boat will be fixed. Strict action against non-compliance," he said on Twitter.
Rescue operations are being carried out in the Brahmaputra river by the national and state disaster response forces.
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