Boat tragedy: Rahul to meet victims’ kins

Bhubaneswar: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, who is on 2-day Odisha tour, will visit Hirakud reservoir where a boat capsized on Sunday killing at least 10 people. Rahul is scheduled to meet the families of the victims and also the injured at the hospital.

The Congress campaigning committee chief, who is scheduled to meet some students and party leaders on the second day of his visit in Bhubaneswar, has condoled deeply the loss of 10 valuable lives.

The unfortunate incident occurred when the machine boat carrying mostly picnickers, including women and children, developed a snag in its motor pump and was flooded.

According to sources, around 100 members of the Lion's Club of Sambalpur had gone into the reservoir in two boats for a picnic.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik, who is in Delhi on his 4-day official visit, condoled the deaths and asked the Sambalpur district administration to speed up the rescue operation. He also declared free treatment of the injured.

Meanwhile,Finance minister Prasanna Acharya and Revenue minister Surya Narayan Patro have left for the tragedy spot to take stock of the situation. The two senior ministers will make an ariel survey of the rescue operation and are scheduled to discuss with the district administration.