Several past incidents of boat capsize and resultant loss of human lives in Chilika lake and rivers of the State have seemingly yielded no lessons for the administration, boat operators and passengers.
A day after the tragic boat capsize in the Mahanadi in Kendrapada district which claimed ten lives, including eight children and two women, it has come to fore that the ill-fated boat was ferrying passengers without any licence and it was a fishing boat.
Besides, there was no provision of any lifejacket on the boat, said Special Relief Commissioner Bishnupada Sethi on Thursday.
Sethi further said action would be taken against those found guilty after the probe.
Allowing the boat to operate without a licence has raised serious questions against the district administration. On the other hand, Kendrapada district Collector Dasarathy Satpathy said the boat capsized due to overloading.
In 2017, a boat carrying 18 tourists had capsized in Chilika lake on July 16 killing six persons. In a report submitted by the Directorate of Ports and Inland Water Transport in connection with the incident, it was mentioned that life jackets were not used during the mishap.
Lapses, either on the part of boatmen or administration, have resulted in loss of human lives on several occasions in the past. But the guidelines issued by the State Government to prevent mishaps continue to be flouted by everyone.