Meaning of 3 children raised from 1 village: Boat sank in Barabanki including 25 people, villagers said – had the bridge been built, our children would not have died

Last evening i.e. on November 8, 2022, a boat capsized in Sumli river in Salpur Kakraha village of Barabanki district. There were about 25 people on the boat, including mostly women and children. Two daughters and one son died in the accident. 1 woman and 2 girls are hospitalized in critical condition. The villagers attributed this accident to an already prepared bridge. The watchman of the bridge refused to divulge anything.

Dainik Bhaskar reached the village of Salpur Kunia, adjacent to the Sumli river, where today the meanings of 3 innocent children arose together. There is mourning in the whole village. The parents of the children are in a state of unconsciousness. We spoke to the families of the deceased and the people of the village.

Villagers of two girls who were victims of boat accident have brought them to the farm for the last rites.

High bridge is standing ready for 3 months, but Eprose Road could not be built
The sister of the girl who died in the accident said with wide eyes, “We were going to see the Kakraha village fair on the other side of the river. There is no bridge to go over it. So we got on the boat. Nearby on the boat. 25 people were sitting. The boat lost its balance in the middle and it sank. People saved me but my sister could not survive.”

The girl further said, “A bridge has been built 200 meters away from where the boat sank. But the approach road connecting it to the ground has not been built. If the bridge had been operational, we would have gone through it and our sister Don’t die.”

This bridge is built in the middle of the river but is not connected to the land from both the sides. According to the villagers, it has been more than 3 months since the bridge was ready.

With this, all the people of the village said in one voice, the high bridge was completed 3 months ago and was ready. But it was not connected to the ground, since then the work has stopped. The villagers also raised questions on the new SP MLA Fareed Mahfouz for stopping the work of the bridge.

We tried to talk to all the responsible officers of Barabanki, including the ADM, regarding the stalled construction work of the bridge. Nobody answered it. Asked to talk to other officers.

As soon as the boat sank, a crowd of more than 1 thousand people had gathered on the banks of the river.

One son was tossed by the foot, the other lost his hand.
Ashok Vishwakarma, who lost his 8-year-old son Himanshu in the accident, said in a hushed voice, “I was going across to see the fair with my two sons. On the way the balance of the boat was disturbed. I lost both the children’s hands. When I tossed a child with my feet, I got caught. But the other child got washed away in the river. After 2-3 hours his dead body was found.

Ashok Vishwakarma’s wife is sitting in silence near the dead body of her child.

Jaikaran lost both daughter and granddaughter, one daughter hospitalized
Jaikaran Yadav of Kunia village has lost his 14-year-old daughter Ritu and his granddaughter 6-year-old Priyanka in the accident. His elder daughter Rohini Yadav, 18, is admitted in the District Hospital, Barabanki in a critical condition. He is undergoing treatment. Another child of theirs who was present in the boat has survived. The death of two innocent people in a family has shocked the entire village.

Village women console Ritu and Priyanka’s mother.

Jaikaran’s wife is not in a position to speak anything. You can see their pain in the video above.

50 people jumped to save their lives as soon as the boat sank
Rahul, who saved the lives of more than 10 people and eyewitnesses said, “The boat sank in the river 200 meters away from the bridge. As soon as the boat sank, more than 50 people present at the fair immediately jumped into the river to save the lives of the people.” Together they saved the lives of about 20 women and children drowning. A police personnel also helped a lot in evacuating the people. This rescue lasted for 2 hours.

About 15 people who drowned, including the boat, were drowned near the bridge 300 meters away.

We could not save 3 children. The flow of the river is very fast, after sinking the boat was found near the bridge. There is also a lot of kelp in the river, in which deaths occurred due to being trapped.