Cyclone Tauktae: Maharashtra govt targets Centre over mid-sea mishap
Active Times For Printing Download Epaper from files section from bottom of this page
Mumbai: The deaths of 49 crew members of a barge that sank after being walloped by Cyclone Tauktae sparked political controversy on Thursday with Maharashtra’s ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi targeting the central government and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) amid allegations that the barge captain didn’t move the vessel despite warnings of a powerful storm. The barge – which had 261 people on board and sank around 7 pm on Monday after its anchors were snapped by gale-force winds -- was owned and operated by Durmast Enterprises, chartered by Afcons Infrastructure Limited, a construction, and engineering company, and engaged in contract work for state-run oil major Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).
Shiv Sena spokesperson Arvind Sawant wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking that he seek the resignation of petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan and ONGC chairperson and managing director Subhash Kumar. Sawant also demanded a judicial probe into the alleged “callousness” of ONGC management.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) demanded a culpable homicide case be registered against ONGC officials for allegedly risking the lives of employees working offshore. “There were alerts of cyclone Tauktae from concerned authorities but ONGC chose to overlook them…We want the responsibility of the concerned officials to be fixed,” said Nawab Malik, state minority affairs minister.
