Mathura boat tragedy: Toll climbs to 11, search on for missing 4; boatman arrested even as locals allege flouting safety norms; PM announces ex gratiaSudeep.LavaniaAgra: A day after a motorized boat, with 37 people onboard, capsized in the Yamuna River in the temple town of Mathura, the death toll climbed to 11 on Saturday as the rescue ops continued.The 11th deceased was identified as Manik Tondon, a resident of Punjab’s Abohar, and his family members were already at the spot when he was brought out by the rescue teams.Giving details about the ongoing rescue ops, SP Mathura (Rural) Suresh Chandra Rawat, speaking to TOI, said, “Since last night itself, a total of 8 teams of NDRF, 5 teams of SDRF, 3 teams of PAC, and 6 private diver teams have been conducting search operations. Approximately 800 meters away from where the incident occurred yesterday, 1 more dead body has been recovered. So far, a total of 11 bodies have been recovered.”“The 10 bodies that were recovered yesterday — their post-mortem was conducted during the night itself, and they were handed over respectfully. The body that was found today — the victim’s father and brother arrived early in the morning. Legal proceedings are being carried out. Regarding the people who are still reported missing, search operations are continuing,” Rawat added. In the early hours of Saturday, the boat was also retrieved by the rescue teams.Details accessed by TOI showed that many of the deceased were relatives. Among the deceased were: Kavita Bahal, her son Madhur Bahal, Charanjeet (uncle of Madhur), Pinki (Aunt of Madhur), Asha Rani (Aunt of Madhur), Anju Gulati (Aunt of Madhur), Rakesh Gulati (Anju’s husband), Ishan Kataria, Meenu Bansal, Sapna Hans and Manik Tondon (body found today). All the deceased were from Punjab, and their bodies were also sent to Punjab. Among the deceased, Kavita Bahal, Madhur Bahal, Ishan Kataria, Charanjeet Singh and Pinki Bahal were cremated in Punjab’s Ludhiana at the time of writing of this news.Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann also participated in the last rites at Jagroan in Ludhiana. Earlier on Friday, he also spoke to his UP counterpart, Yogi Adityanath, on the accident.A day after the incident, the locals informed the TOI that the accident may have been triggered during the alleged negligent removal of the pontoon bridge, and also the high speed of the boat, which brought it into the path of the pontoon bridge. Speaking to TOI, locals claimed that there was negligence on the part of the authorities. “Under the Yamuna Riverfront project, a pontoon bridge was being removed. During this process, the area was not restricted, and no safety arrangements were put in place, while a bulldozer was being used to pull and remove the floating pontoons. The motorboat that capsized had 37 people on board. As the boatman started speeding up the boat on the Yamuna, some passengers began to feel scared,” said a boatman, Mohar Singh, who also saved a few people. Locals further said that some people asked the boatman to slow down the motorboat, but he ignored them and said that this was “his daily work”. “He then took the boat near the pontoon bridge, where it was being dismantled as part of the Yamuna Riverfront project. The water level was also low in that area. The motorboat came to a halt there. When the driver tried to move it again by increasing speed, the boat began to go out of control. People again urged him not to take the boat further and to turn it back, but he ignored them once more and increased the speed. Suddenly, the motorboat accelerated and, due to a gust of wind, collided with the pontoon bridge. After the collision, the boat became uncontrollable. The passengers shifted to one side, causing an imbalance, and due to the excess weight on one side, the motorboat overturned in the river,” said an eyewitness while speaking to TOI.After the incident, an FIR has been filed against the boatman Pappu Nishad (38) and his contractor Narayan Sharma (58), and both were arrested by the police under section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder).Speaking on the issue of negligence in removing the pontoon bridge, Mathura DM CP Singh said, “Rest assured, whatever shortcomings there have been, we will address them, and whoever is responsible, their accountability will also be fixed. We will conduct an investigation, and ADM (F/R) has been assigned to probe with a team; they will submit the report, and we will take action.”UP Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak said, “The Mathura incident is deeply heartbreaking. Orders for a high-level inquiry have been issued to determine how so many passengers were seated on the boat, and what were the reasons for the boat capsizing? Treatment of the injured is being carried out. We stand with the victim families… Strict action will be taken against the culprits…”Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from PMNRF to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would have been given Rs. 50,000.