Pall of gloom descends on Ongole

Pall of gloom descends on Ongole
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A pall of gloom prevailed in Ongole town after the boat tragedy in Krishna River in Vijayawada on Sunday evening, in which 18 people from the town lost their lives. People in large numbers visited the bereaved families and expressed their grief. They wanted the government to take steps and ensure that no such incident repeats again.

Ongole: A pall of gloom prevailed in Ongole town after the boat tragedy in Krishna River in Vijayawada on Sunday evening, in which 18 people from the town lost their lives. People in large numbers visited the bereaved families and expressed their grief. They wanted the government to take steps and ensure that no such incident repeats again.

The friends and members of Ongole Walkers Club remembered the president of club S Koteshwara Rao and former president and advocate Jetty Prabhakar as the duo, who developed the walking track on the Rangarayudu Tank and the people behind recreational tours and events for the public.

They fondly recalled their relationship with one of the members and RMP doctor Seetharamaiah and his wife Anjamma. They wished that at least Bhulakshmi, wife of Sudhakar, who was undergoing treatment at the Andhra Hospital would recover and come back alive.

However, by the evening, they were crestfallen on hearing that she breathed her last. Most family members completed the last rites of their beloved by the evening.

Minister Siddha Raghava Rao, Ongole MP YV Subba Reddy, MLA Damacharla Janardhan, Prakasam district YSRCP president and former Minister Balineni Srinivasa Reddy visited the bereaved families and offered condolences.

Minister Siddha Raghava Rao and MLA Janardhan along with the Collector V Vinay Chand announced that the government would offer Rs 10 lakh as ex-gratia to the kin of the deceased, if they are registered under Chandranna Bima.

If not, the nominees get Rs 8 lakh as ex-gratia, they added. Balineni Srinivasa Reddy urged the State government to offer an ex-gratia of Rs 20 lakh to the families along with a government job to the kin. He demanded the government to conduct a thorough enquiry into the incident and initiate action against those officials and contractors responsible for the mishap.

He requested them to setup a foolproof mechanism to see that no such accidents take place in future. MP YV Subba Reddy demanded action against the Ministers concerned including the higher officials of the departments.

He said that it was sheer negligence on the part of the State government to allow the boat to ply without permissions and life jackets. He demanded that the government should announce Rs 20 lakh with a government job to the eligible kin.

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