At least three tourists are feared dead when the boat they were travelling capsized in Maphou Dam reservoir in a storm Sunday evening in Ukhrul district. A joint search operation by Manipur fire department, police and State Disaster Management is being carried out since Sunday to find the bodies of the three missing tourists. Two makeshift boats carrying altogether 12 tourists capsized after it was hit by a sudden storm at the reservoirs in Chadong village. Only nine of the 12 tourists were able to be rescued by the boatmen while three reportedly went missing. Terming the incident as very unfortunate, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh said that he had requested the Union Home Ministry to deploy navy experts equipped with sophisticated devices to assist in the ongoing search operation. The navy experts and a team of National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) would arrive in the state Tuesday, he said. The rescuers at the scene are facing difficulties pertaining to the lack of required instruments and adequate manpower. Moreover, the water surface is at a depth of around 150 feet and many trees submerged in the flood during dam construction are still underwater. Maphou Dam reservoir, a project which promises drinking water to entire Imphal valley in the next couple of years, has become a tourist hotspot in the state. Villagers nearby are operating boat services for the tourists without proper safety measures like life jackets. Taking note of this, the chief minister said that he had instructed the chief secretary to issue a standing order to allow only boats from authorised company/dealer to be used at tourist sites including Loktak Lake and other water bodies starting Tuesday. Moreover, boating service will be allowed only through licensing system and the concerned DC will be the licensing authority, he said, adding that an unarmed police outpost will also be opened at Chadong tourist site. The chief minister also mentioned of granting compensation as per government norms to the families of the victims, who lost their lives in the disaster.
