Man goes from hospital to hospital looking for missing brother

Mumbai: Jogaram Bhati, 60, has not slept a wink since Wednesday as he is making rounds of hospitals in the city, looking for his younger brother who is one of the two people missing after a Navy craft crashed into the ferryboat `Neel Kamal'.

Hansaram Bhati, 43, a Mumbai resident, was accompanying relatives from Rajasthan who were visiting Elephanta Island when the incident took place off Mumbai coast on Wednesday afternoon.

Speaking to PTI outside Colaba Police Station where he was called by the police for inquiry, Jogaram said his brother lived in Malad, a western suburb, and was in the imitation jewellery business.

On Wednesday, Pravin Rathod, the son of Hansaram's brother-in-law, and his wife Nitu, arrived from Rajasthan and wanted to do sightseeing in Mumbai, he said.

His brother took a day off from his work and accompanied them on a trip to Elephanta Island.

They left Malad around 2 pm and reached the Gateway of India where they boarded the ill-fated ferry.

After the Navy craft rammed the ferry and it began to capsize, Pravin and his wife spoke to their relatives in Rajasthan on phone amid the rescue operations and informed them about the incident.

"Our relatives in Rajasthan told me, and I reached Gateway of India around 4.15 pm. Pravin and his wife were rescued, but my brother was not there," he said.

"I do not know how he is and what ordeal he must have gone through.....I want my brother back," said an emotional Jogaram.

"He is a very good human being, and most lovable among all us siblings," the elder brother added.

A relative of Deepak Wakchaure (50), a resident of Govandi area in the city who was among the 13 deceased, demanded that the government give a job to a family member of every deceased person.

He also claimed that a gold chain and other jewelry worn by Sandeep was missing when the family collected his body.

Colaba Police has asked them to lodge a complaint, he said.

Of the 113 persons on board both the vessels, 13 died after the collision and 98, including two injured, were rescued.

Tourist inflow to Elephanta Island dwindles

A day after a Navy craft rammed into a ferry killing 13 persons, there was a decline in the number of tourists taking the ferry to visit Elephanta Island, a popular tourist attraction near Mumbai coast, going by the number of ferry passengers on Thursday. At the Gateway of India in south Mumbai, where passengers of the ill-fated ferry had boarded the vessel to visit Elephanta Island, people were still seen queuing up for tickets, but their numbers were far less than the crowd seen yesterday.

Tourists come from various parts of the country to visit the Gateway of India, and from there hop on to ferries for a short ride or to visit tourist attractions like the Elephanta Island in the Arabian Sea. On Thursday afternoon, some tourists who were seen in the queue to get their ferry tickets to visit the iconic Elephanta caves were unaware of the Neel Kamal ferry tragedy a day earlier. The ferry service for the Elephanta caves, which is a part of the 'Mumbai Darshan' guided tour, began at 9 am as usual, a booking supervisor of Mumbai Jal Vahatuk Sanstha told PTI at the Gateway of India.

The boat service to Alibaug and Mandwa was also operational since 6 am this morning, he said. “There were fewer tourists than any other day, due to the ferry capsize tragedy,” he said, adding that the number of tourists, who prefer to ride boats in the Mumbai harbour, also dwindled this morning. Ferry boats with depleted strength of passengers were seen leaving from the Gateway of India for Elephanta Island.

Kashmir Singh, who had come to the Gateway of India from adjoining Palghar district with his son and daughter-in-law, said that he knew about Wednesday's accident and avoided to take the 30-minutes boat ride. "I know about the incident, but such tragedies don't happen every day," he said. Madinaben, a tourist from Ahmedabad who enjoyed the harbour boat ride on Thursday with her two children said she was unaware about the tragedy.

"I didn't know about the tragedy, I learnt about it when I was on the boat. My daughter called and told me not to take the ride, but it was too late", she said.

Punit Chaturvedi, who had come from Delhi, said that he knew about the incident but it didn't prevent him from taking the boat ride. "There was no question of getting scared as we were provided life jackets during the boat ride," he said.

Life jackets mandatory for boat rides

Authorities on Thursday made life jackets mandatory for all people taking boat rides from the Gateway of India. Some tourists, however, said the life jackets would be of help only if people know how to use them. The authorities should instruct people how to use the life jackets in case of an emergency, they said. Some survivors of the tragedy on Wednesday claimed the ferry did not have enough life jackets. Devidas Jadhav, an assistant boat inspector deputed at the Gateway of India, told PTI that they have made the use of life jackets mandatory for every passenger taking ferry boat to Mandva near Alibaug (in neighbouring Raigad), Elephanta Island or while going for a short ride of the Mumbai harbour. Sangeeta Dalvi, who was travelling to Mandva with her husband for some work, said passengers must use life jackets as they can save lives in case of an emergency. She also said there was no need for the people to be scared after Wednesday's accident. "Such tragedies do not happen every day. We do not avoid travelling by roads though everyday several accidents occur on roads."

Two still missing

Two passengers, a man and a child, were still missing a day after a Navy craft carrying out engine trials rammed into their ferry off Mumbai coast, police said on Thursday. The two missing persons have been identified as 43-year-old Hansraj Bhati and seven-year-old Johan Mohammad Nisar Ahmed Pathan, the police said.

"Tourists here do not want to wear the life jacket, but the same people use it without any complaint when they go to other countries like Singapore or Malaysia. It is because the authorities there do not allow a boat to move if even one person is without a life jacket.”

-Sameer Bamane, Boat owner