Catch The Big Fish: YSRCP Leader On Krishna Boat Tragedy

In the wake of the boat mishap on River Krishna and the AP government's apathy towards the families of the victims, the YSR Congress Party raised its voice against the injustice. Speaking to the media in Vijaywada on Tuesday, YSRCP leader Malladi Vishnu said that the tragedy mirrored the ineptness of the TDP government and demanded the resignations of the irrigation minister, tourism minister and health minister blaming them squarely for the tragedy that could have been averted.

He ridiculed Chandrababu Naidu for building media hype around Pavithra Sangamam claiming that water had been brought from Godavari and projecting it as a major tourist attraction. This was the root cause of the boat mishap, he alleged. He said that the hi-tech government is clueless about local happenings. "The Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) turned a blind eye to unlicensed operators having a free run on the river and conducting ferry rides without statutory permissions," he condemned.

He pointed out that the video in circulation that shows a APTDC official 'pulling up' the boat operator in question is misleading, because if one were to watch the video closely it emerges clearly that the official is merely telling the operator that he should not pick up passengers from that point. What is worse is that it points to a collusion between the boat operator and the APTDC officials.

Blaming and punishing the driver was a pointless exercise as the big fish always seemd to get away while the small fish were invariably caught, he said. He also questioned the interference of two AP ministers who had pressurised the APTDC officials to let the unlicensed boat operators function without permits. The four TDP MLAs who spoke in the Assembly were misleading people about the facts that led to the tragedy, he said.