The search operation for the missing students is still going on
Shaken by the massive outrage over Sunday's tragedy in which 24 students from a Hyderabad engineering college were washed away by a sudden gush of water in the Beas river, the Himachal Pradesh government has announced a slew of measures to prevent a recurrence of such incidents. (
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They include fencing along a three km stretch at all dams and other sensitive and dangerous projects and installation of proper signages. The power department, sources in the state government said, has also been instructed to take more precautions while releasing water from all dams in the future. (
'One Second We Were Taking Pictures, Then it Was All Over')
The steps were announced today by chief minister Virbhadra Singh after a meeting with officials of the departments of power and non-conventional energy.
The Navy has sent a team of nine divers to Mandi and they are expected to join the search operations, which are currently being conducted by Army, police and Indo Tibetan Border Police or ITBP personnel.
The state government has come under severe criticism for its failure to warn people before releasing water from the dam. The chief minister has already ordered a high-level inquiry into the tragedy.
It prompted the Himachal Pradesh High Court to intervene in the matter yesterday, when it asked the state government to file a report by Monday on its investigation into the tragedy. (
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"Going by the content of news items, it is a sad tale that sheer fun of young students turned fatal as a consequence of utter and callous negligence of power project authorities," said a judge. (
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The court said that "In case the water was discharged without any warning as alleged, then prima facie it is established that it is not only a case of callousness but a case of grave negligence." (
'In Front of My Eyes... They Drowned')
The students were from an engineering college in Hyderabad. They were standing on the Beas river's edge on Sunday evening taking photographs when they were hit by a torrent of water. Bodies of six students have so far been recovered.