HYDERABAD: A day after the Bhagmati boat, with 30 persons onboard, went adrift amidst heavy rains and rough windy weather while returning from Buddha statue at Hussainsagar on Tuesday, there was no change in boating activities at Lumbini Park here on Wednesday.
Oblivious of the incident and the video that went viral in which a rescue team is seen struggling to get the boat to the jetty, many people enjoyed the speed and mechanised boat rides.
Tarannum Fatima, who came from Secunderabad with her two children, planned to take the speed boat for the ride and had not heard of the incident.
Nazia Bano, who was aware of the incident, said that there was no risk as the weather was good before boarding a mechanized boat.
Though those taking speed boat rides wore the mandated life jackets before boarding the boat, many passengers on mechanised boats, removed their jackets and left them unused.
K. Santhosh from Uppal, who went on joy ride with his eight-year-old son, on why he did not wear the jacket, said, “It is just a 10 minutes ride. What can possibly go wrong in such a short time?”
Mohammad Sohail from Falaknuma, who often goes on joy rides on mechanized boats, said that he had never worn a life jacket.
Apprehension was visible when T. Anil Goud from SR Nagar said “I don’t think I will ride the boat any sooner”.
Meanwhile, Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Mohammad Ibrahim, general manager of the state tourism department, said, “Instead of taking the boat to its original jetty, we took it to the Boat Club jetty. We stopped operations when there was heavy rain and gale. Based on the hours that a boat runs, we change its oil, filters, hose pipes and cables. We also check the oil level on a daily basis.”
