‘God answered our prayers’: Year after they lost firstborn to boat tragedy, Vadodara couple welcomes baby girl

On January 18, 2024, 12 students and two teachers of New Sunrise School in Vadodara had died after the boat they were travelling in during a picnic capsized in the Harni Motnath Lake. (PTI)  

A year on, Umar and his wife Adiba (30) received “consolation in times of anguish” as they became parents to another girl. The Kotharis cannot help but marvel at the “resemblance” the child, born around two weeks ago, bears to Alishba.

“She is an identical copy of Alishba,” remarks Umar. “Her birth has flooded us with more memories of our departed daughter,” he wistfully adds.

Umar recalls how just days before her death, Alishba had expressed the wish to have a younger sister. “We were celebrating Uttarayan (the kite-flying festival in Gujarat) that day…” he shares with The Indian Express.

Alishba with her brother and parents

Umar remembers January 18, 2024 like it was yesterday. Until the day of the tragedy, he was against Alishba joining the picnic. But eventually, he relented to his daughter’s wishes. “I regret that I gave in. We are constantly haunted by the guilt of losing a child. Every single moment since the tragedy, we remember our old times and routines. My eight-year-old son, Usaid, misses his elder sister every day,” he says.

“When we lost her, we prayed fervently to have our daughter back. And now, when we were told that we have been blessed with a baby girl, we were overwhelmed. Our friends and relatives, too, can’t help marvelling at her likeness to Alishba,” Umar adds.

The Kotharis have decided to call their newborn Fatima — a name that they once wanted for Alishba. “We wanted to change her name to Fatima. We did not change the official records but had begun addressing her by that name at home,” Umar, who works at a private company , tells The Indian Express.

Although Fatima’s birth has given him some solace, Umar says nothing can take away the pain the family has been living with after Alishba’s passing. “Our wounds can never heal… Although God has been kind and (with Fatima’s birth) has conveyed to us that he is there to lessen our pain, we cannot help but remember our firstborn…” he says.

Umar says it was a matter of pure luck that his son Usaid was not a part of the picnic. “My son had to sit an academic year out as he did not fit the new age criteria for primary school admission. Otherwise, in all likelihood, he would have been on the boat… I shudder to think what would have happened…”

Meanwhile, the birth of Fatima has lent optimism to another couple who lost their child to the Harni tragedy. The couple, who did not wish to be identified, has undergone a procedure for contraception reversal in the hope of becoming parents again.

Long road to justice

Umar says the delay in commencement of trial in the case continues to “gnaw at the guilt”. He tells The Indian Express: “Even God has answered our prayers but the justice system is failing us. The complainant in the FIR (Rajesh Chauhan, former Executive Engineer of Vadodara Municipal Corporation [VMC]) has been found guilty of dereliction of duty by the civic body but has not been made a co-accused in the case. As per our laws, two FIRs cannot be registered in the same incident and so, we are fighting. We are putting up a fight to ensure the VMC and the school are also taken to task but justice seems to be eluding us.”

The arrested accused included Binit Kotia of M/s Kotia Projects as well as Paresh Shah, who allegedly oversaw the day-to-day running of the lake zone. The other partners of M/s Kotia Projects, including Paresh Shah’s wife Nutan, son Vatsal and daughter Vaishakhi, former VMC town planning officer Gopaldas Shah, Jatin Doshi and his two daughters-in-law Tejal Doshi and Neha Doshi, Dharmin Bhatani, Dipen Shah, Dharmil Shah, Bhimsinh Yadav, Vedprakash Yadav and Rashmikant Prajapati were also arrested in the case. Nilesh Jain of Dolphin Entertainment, who had been subcontracted to run the boating facility and childrens’ rides as well as Alpesh Bhatt of Tristar, who owned the boats and previously ran the recreation facility, along with Lake Zone Manager Manager Shantilal Solanki, and boatmen Nayan Gohil and Ankit Vasava were also among the 20 arrested persons in the case.

All of the accused who were arrested are out on bail. “They are living their life while we do not know when the trial will even commence. Most of the partners of the firms that managed the Lake Zone have filed a discharge application, stating that they were not involved in the running of the recreation area.”

In line with the November 29, 2024 order of the Gujarat High Court, which is hearing a suo motu PIL in Harni boat tragedy, the Deputy Collector of Vadodara district is conducting hearings to decide the compensation to be paid by contracting agency M/s Kotia Projects to the victims. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Corporator of VMC Ward 15, Ashish Joshi, who has been assisting the families in their fight for justice, told The Indian Express, “We (the families) have demanded a compensation of Rs 5 crore for each of the 14 grieving families. The next hearing for the compensation is on January 20 and thereafter, the Deputy Collector will submit a report to the HC for further directions. The parents have also petitioned that action should be initiated against the VMC and the New Sunrise School, which has filed an affidavit before the Deputy Collector stating that they had no liability in the case.”

During the hearing of the suo motu PIL in the HC in November 2024, the victims had submitted that like in the case of the Morbi tragedy, where Oreva company was directed to pay an “exemplary compensation”, M/s Kotia Projects should be ordered to pay a similar relief in the Harni tragedy. In October 2022, 135 people, including 55 children, had died after a suspension bridge across Machhu river in Morbi town collapsed.

It was alleged that 30 people were seated in the boat meant for just 14.

At his home in Vadodara’s walled city, Umar says sending his son on a school picnic is out of the question now. “I even fear sending him to school in overcrowded vans because of the reports we read about neglect during transportation,” he adds. “I can’t trust anyone.”

What is the Harni boat tragedy?

On January 18, 2024, 12 students and two teachers of New Sunrise School in Vadodara had died after the boat they were travelling in during a picnic capsized in the Harni Motnath Lake. It was alleged that 30 people were seated in the boat meant for just 14. Deployed by a contractor, the vessel was being operated by a boatman who had no pre-requisite qualification to run a motorised boat, according to the report of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Vadodara police. The SIT had arrested a total of 20 persons in the case, including partners of M/s Kotia Projects, contracted by the Vadodara Municipal Corporation for the redevelopment of the lake. All the accused are currently out on bail.