THE DAY THE BOATS CAPSIZED

                         The boat mishap in the Surada reservoir ( locally known as Sorada Ghai) during my childhood  was a tragic incident that had shocked the small town then. The big reservoir fed by the Patma or Padma river is hemmed in by high embankment and supplies its water to the far off towns like  Aska and Berhampur besides the Surada town itself. Its undulating blue water,  large number of aquatic birds, the lotus flowers blooming in every part of this water body and above all the smoothly gliding country boats propelled by oars are big crowd-pullers. 

                            During those days, the inmates of Catholic Mission girls hostel on the campus of the Catholic Mission School used to enjoy boat-ride  on the afternoon of every Saturday as a pleasure trip. To sail in the country boat was full of excitement and fun. On that ill-fated day too ,in July 1968 ( I don't remember the date ) a group of thirty students in four boats were having an exciting pleasure ride on the placid water of the reservoir. The afternoon was  balmy and pleasant, and the school girls on boats were noisy and uncontrollable  with  whoop of joy as the boatmen steered the boats through the  vast area of scattered  lotus plants abloom with  beautiful flowers. As the girls leaned on to the sides of the boats to pluck lotus flowers, two boats capsized .The boatswains could not not control their boats with their long bamboo poles. In this tragedy three young girls  drowned and lost their life  while others were rescued by the local people. The weekend pleasure trip by boats was  discontinued from that time onwards.

( Writer - Dr. Pradeep Kumar Nayak )