AAP leader, workers booked for using govt boat for rescue ops to hold protest at flooded underbridge 

The FIR was filed on the basis of a complaint filed by Devanand Pithiya, 42, the Sarpanch of Akhodar village, who claimed that he was unaware while lending the boat that it would be used for a political protest, instead of rescue operation.

Defending the action, Pravin Ram said the AAP wanted to raise the delay in the construction of the underbridge.
“The Keshod underbridge, which was scheduled to be built in one-and-a-half years, is yet to be inaugurated even after four years with about 20% works still pending. Ahead of the Nagarpalika election, we wanted to raise the issue. Now, people have to travel around 10 km as the underbridge is not available to them. The construction work of the bridge resumed just four days ago. Due to rain, the underbridge is flooded but the taluka Panchayat has done nothing to pump the water out. So, we staged a protest with a boat. The police detained us for several hours and booked us,” Ram said.

AAP workers put the boat in the flooded underpass suggesting that the government can use it to ferry people to either side. (Express Photo)

Speaking to The Indian Express, the Sarpanch said that the boat and its outboard engine were purchased by the Keshod Taluka Panchayat in 2022-23. He said the boat, which was seized by the Keshod Police, is of vital importance not only to his village but also several other villages in the low-lying areas of Junagadh district which invariably floods every year, rendering road travel even to Keshod, just 17 km away, impossible.

“Our village is flooded during the monsoon. During an emergency, travel by road is quite impossible and    ambulances cannot reach here. Even the NDRF teams find it hard to reach us. We demanded a grant to buy a boat, and we finally got it a couple of years ago. The boat is also being used by about 17 other villages in the Ghed vistaar,” said Pithiya.

The Sabri river flows through the village and when the Ozat river in the east overflows, water from Visavadar, Mendarda and Keshod flows into the villages in the Ghed areas. This year too, there was massive flooding in the region, leading to rescue operations to save people trapped in floodwaters.

The Sarpanch said that one of the accused, Balu Parbat Parmar, an acquaintance, had sought permission to use the boat. Pithiya said he gave permission to use the boat believing that it was for rescue purposes. “But I didn’t know they were going to use it for a protest in Keshod,” said the Sarpanch.

He added, “Boat amaara maate jeevan jaruriyaat vastu che. (The boat is a basic necessity of life for us). It is meant for the rescue of villagers and not for protests. I only came to know about it when the police called me. Now I have to move court for the release of the boat.”

When asked why the boat, which is of importance for the villages due to the ongoing rainfall in Saurashtra, was used in the protest: the AAP leader, Pravin Ram, said, “We have not used it to sell drugs or murder anyone. Our purpose was to bring the problems of the thousands of people of Keshod to light.”

He alleged that many boats ferry illicit substances in the area, but the government doesn’t take action against them.