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District Collector Sambit Mishra told The Indian Express that one boat has already been provided to the village, while four more have been sanctioned “and will be procured soon”.
Four members of a family drowned in the Indravati River while returning home from a weekly market in a dungi boat in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district on Wednesday evening.
The victims — Podiya Veko (30), her one-year-old son Rakesh, father-in-law Bahadur, and a distant relative, eight-year-old Sunita Kawasi — were from Bodka village, located 4–5 km beyond the river in the Behramgarh block of Bijapur district. While the bodies of the woman and her child, tied to her body, were recovered on Thursday, the girl’s body was found on Friday. One person remains missing.
The area is a Maoist stronghold.
“There is a boat provided by the government, but it was not there when they reached. All five sat in a very thin boat called a dungi, which is said to have hit a rock in the river and capsized. One woman named Bandri held on to the boat and was saved, but the remaining four drowned,” a government official said.
Last year, too, at least three people drowned while crossing the river. The latest incident has once again highlighted the lack of safe river-crossing infrastructure in the remote region, where villagers routinely depend on makeshift boats despite repeated assurances by the administration. Two months ago, a survey was conducted by the government to build another bridge over the river, though officials said more boats would be provided in the interim.
“There is an under-construction bridge in Fundri, which is being used by many villagers to cross the river. But that bridge too is around 15 to 20 kms away from their village, and so many villagers have formed the habit of taking the boat ride to cross the river, which has a distance of barely 120 meters. But they do not know how to swim,” the official said.
District Collector Sambit Mishra told The Indian Express that one boat has already been provided to the village, while four more have been sanctioned “and will be procured soon”.
“We are also providing lifejackets to them. We will also start ferry service for the villagers. We will make the provisions before the next monsoon,” Mishra said.
Jayprakash S Naidu is a Principal Correspondent for The Indian Express, currently serving as the state correspondent for Chhattisgarh. With an extensive career in frontline journalism, he reports on the political, security, and humanitarian landscape of Central India. Expertise and Experience Specialized Conflict Reporting: Jayprakash is a leading voice on the Maoist/Naxalite conflict in the Bastar region. His reporting provides a critical, ground-level view of: Internal Security: Tracking high-stakes encounters, surrender programs for senior Maoist leaders, and the establishment of security camps in formerly inaccessible "heartland" villages. Tribal Rights & Displacement: Investigative reporting on the identity and land struggles of thousands of displaced tribals fleeing conflict zones for neighboring states. Governance & Bureaucratic Analysis: He consistently monitors the evolution of Chhattisgarh as it marks 25 years of statehood, covering: Electoral Politics: Analyzing the shift in power between the BJP and Congress and the impact of regional tribal movements. Public Policy: Reporting on landmark infrastructure projects (e.g., mobile connectivity in remote zones) and judicial interventions, such as High Court rulings on civil and family law. Diverse Investigative Background: Prior to his current focus on Chhattisgarh, Jayprakash held reported from Maharashtra, where he specialized in: Crisis & Disaster Management: Notable for his extensive coverage of the Cyclone Tauktae barge tragedy (P-305) and the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on frontline personnel. Legal & Human Rights: Investigative pieces for platforms like Article-14, focusing on police accountability and custodial deaths across India. Environmental & Social Justice: Authoritative reporting on the Hasdeo Aranya forest protests and the approval of major tiger reserves, highlighting the tension between industrial mining and environmental preservation. ... Read More
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