‘Charge govt under section 302 for deaths in dam breach’

Mumbai: Leader of Opposition Vijay Wadettiwar alleged that the deaths occurred due to the breach of Tiware dam happened “because of the infidelity of the State government”. He went on to say that the government should be charged under Section 302 for the death of innocent people. He also demanded resignation of State Water Resources Minister Girish Mahajan.  

A breach in the Tiware dam in Ratnagiri district killed at least 11 people on Wednesday. The breach, caused by incessant rain on Tuesday, also caused a flood-like situation in seven downstream villages. 

At least 12 homes near the dam were washed away.

“It is due to negligence at every level by the government,” said Wadettiwar. The Congress leader said the breach in the dam showed lack of governance and callous attitude of the government. 

“The government is not taking responsibility for the incident. The concerned minister should come forth and resign and take moral responsibility for what happened,” he said. 

He demanded a structural audit of all dams.  “Shiv Sena MLA Sadanand Chavan’s company ‘Khemraj and Company’ constructed the dam. The MLA and the company, both, should be charged,” Wadettiwar demanded.

“How can the dam have a breach in 19 years when the life of the dam should be about 100 years?” he asked. 

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) State President Jayant Patil said the dam breached due to the negligence of the administration. “The government is sleeping and they need more deaths to wake up,” he said. 

LOP in Legislative Council Dhananjay Munde accused the government of negligence and raised the issue of a structural audit of all dams in the State.

Congress leader Sachin Sawant said somebody has to take the responsibility for this incident.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis directed the district administration to speed up the rescue operation. 

“Those who are responsible for the incident will be punished,” Fadnavis assured.