Sambalpur/Cuttack: Taking suo motu cognizance of the Hirakud boat tragedy which claimed 31 lives, Orissa High Court today issued notices to the State Government asking it to file status reports in two weeks, even as a boatman was arrested in connection with the incident.
Expressing concern over Sunday's incident, a Division Bench of Justices Indrajit Mohanti and Biswanath Mohapatra admitted the matter as public interest litigation.
The High Court asked the secretaries of revenue, home and water resources departments to file reports detailing as to how the tragedy occurred and who are responsible for it.
The government has also been asked to furnish details of the safety measures taken for those who are ferried by boats, sources said.
Asking the government to file detailed reports about it, the High Court fixed February 24 to hear the matter.
Meanwhile, the police which had filed an FIR at Hirakud Police Station against boat-owner Satyanarayan Pandey and two others, today arrested one of the two boatmen, identified as Akhaya Rana, Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) of Hirakud, D P Das said.
Pandey and the other boatman were absconding and efforts are on to nab them, he said.
