Mumbai: ‘Dredger vessel was anchored 200 metres away since 3 pm,’ says sarpanch

It was high tide when the dredger vessel was being pulled underneath the Naigaon railway bridge

Four days after the incident in which a dredger vessel damaged a part of the Naigaon railway bridge on Vasai creek while it was being pulled underneath it by tugboats, sarpanch of Panju Island, Ashish Bhoir told mid-day that the vessel - Aryan - was anchored hardly 200 metres from the spot since 3 pm on the day of the incident.

A screengrab shows the vessel hitting the bridge. Pics/Hanif Patel

"Why did the authorities concerned not raise a red flag or take action against the accused then? Police swung into action only after the incident happened and the bridge got damaged. Had they raised an alarm in the day, it could have been averted," Bhoir added.

The incident spot falls under the jurisdiction of the Vasai Port and a port inspector from the area said it was high tide when the dredger vessel was being pulled underneath the bridge. "Had the vessel not sunk in the creek, the railway bridge could have been badly damaged, as the water level was rising at the rate of 2-feet every 10 minutes. When the vessel was just under the bridge, the boat operators used a gas cutter to allow water to enter the vessel so that it sinks," added the inspector.

A resident of Panju island Praveen Mhatre said, "Had they not sunk the vessel, it would have badly deformed the bridge and the railway tracks, and the incident would have been a devastating one. It is the busiest route of the Western Railway. A number of express trains pass through it."

‘Not the first time'
"It is very sad that of the marine police, local cops, coast guard, customs officials and port officials, nobody took an initiative to find out about the vessel, which had been anchored since 3 pm. This is a matter of serious concern. It is not the first incident. In the past, too, vessels have damaged the bridge. But no strong action has been taken against the accused. In this incident also, the police are arresting the small fries, whereas the kingpin is at large," Mhatre added.

An official from the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) told mid-day, "After securing information about the vessel from the Manikpur police, we wrote a letter to Pir
Khan's Bluefin Marine to recover the vessel at the earliest. The owner seems to be absconding." When mid-day approached the people on board two boats anchored near the Vasai Port and asked them whether the same boats were used to pull the dredger vessel, they said, "It belongs to Pir Khan saahab."

‘Not our concern'
A Customs official said, "The incident has nothing to do with our area of work. It is the responsibility of the marine police and Coast Guard to keep an eye on suspicious movements in the sea. We have no role to play in this." An officer from Manikpur police station, where the case has been registered, told mid-day that six more accused had been arrested.

"Earlier we had arrested two tugboat drivers. Now, six more accused - Rahul Ram, Palash Santra, Harveer Singh, Santosh Rai, Salman Shaikh and Prasanjeet Sarkar have been arrested. The prime accused is still at large."