Andhra Pradesh govt issues SOP for boating operations in state

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, on Friday, virtually inaugurated about nine tourism boating control rooms in the state from his camp office at Tadepalli. Set up at different locations in the state, the boating control rooms will be working towards bolstering the safety and security of tourists who take to water sports. The Andhra Pradesh government, on this occasion, issued a set of guidelines for the safe and secure tourist boating operations in the state.

The Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) have been issued for registration of vehicles, set up of control rooms, staffing of the control rooms, issuing departure clearance, onboard operations, patrolling of the waterways, and disaster response. As per a press note received, the new control rooms have been allocated with a manager from the Revenue Department, a Liaison Officer from the Water Resource Department, a System Operator from the Tourism Department, inspection staff from the Tourism Department, security personnel from the Police Department, and lifeguards/swimmers/quick response team from the Tourism Department. Each member of the staff has further been assigned specific duties to ensure the safe operation of tourist boats.

The authorities also released a checklist for boats that will be ferrying tourists. The checklist for the crew includes examining the license, identity cards/badges, and registration on a daily basis. On the other hand, the passengers, apart from donning life jackets, will have to be mindful of the do’s and don’ts and the load capacity of the boat.

It may be noted that the tourism boating control room in Visakhapatnam has been set up at Rushikonda.

The state government’s efforts to bolster the safety of tourist boats come in the wake of the tragic boat mishap that took place in the Godavari river back in September 2019. The horrific capsize had claimed several lives and raised serious questions on the safety of boat travel.