Pune, Jul 9: Days after Maharashtra Water Conservation Minister Tanaji Sawant blamed crabs for the breach in a Ratnagiri dam that killed at least 19 people, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) threw crabs outside his residence in Pune to protest against his remark.
On July 2, at least 19 people lost their lives after a breach in the Tiware Dam near Chiplun in Maharashtra's Ratnagiri district after heavy rainfall in the region. The breach caused a flood-like situation in seven downstream villages.
Following the incident, Sawant gave a bizarre explanation for the tragedy, saying that the leakage was caused due to a large number of crabs gathered around the dam. Sawant had said that officials and locals had informed him that a large number of crabs have weakened the wall of the dam.
"A large number of crabs have gathered around the dam and leakages happened. Locals had brought the issue to our notice and our department acted on it,” Sawant had told reporters.
The villagers, however, claimed that there were already several cracks in the dams and the government neglected their pleas for maintenance. According to reports, the villagers spotted cracks in the dam in November last year and reported the same to the concerned district authorities. However, due to an ongoing dispute between Chiplun and Dapoli tehsil offices over jurisdiction of the dam, the maintenance was never undertaken.
Earlier, NCP youth workers reached Shahupuri police station in Kolhapur with crabs in hand and demanded registration of an FIR against crabs under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code. They also presented a memorandum urging police to file a case against crabs.
"If the minister thinks crabs caused the breach, then a case should be registered against the crabs under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code for murder," NCP state youth wing chief Mehboob Sheikh said.
In a similar move, NCP workers led by party general secretary Jitendra Awhad went to Naupada police station in Thane with crabs in hand and asked the police to file a complaint against them and arrest them.
Awhad slammed the Maharashtra government and said that Sawana was trying to shield the contractor who was responsible for the tragedy.
"23 people were washed away, some are still missing, but the minister claims that crabs had weakened the dam," he was quoted as saying by news agency.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has ordered an inquiry in the matter led by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under a secretary rank official.
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