In Prayagraj, boat rides bring life back to Sangam
PRAYAGRAJ: In yet another sign of return of normalcy after around three months of lockdown, boat riding on the waters of Sangam resumed here on Friday.
The district administration, as part of Unlock-1, finally allowed operation of manually operated boats for pilgrims and visitors alike at Sangam.
“It seems like ages that I am enjoying a boat ride at Sangam. Without these manually rowed boats, the Sangam just seemed incomplete,” said Geetika, an undergraduate student of Allahabad University while enjoying a boat ride with her siblings on Friday.
The boats are operating with many restrictions, including allowing just five people on any one boat at a time and ensuring social distancing norms, said a boatman.
The operations of boats also pave way for pilgrims to reach to the very site of the mid-river confluence to take the dip as has been the practice among devotees, a boatman added.
“Boats were stopped from operating since the Janata Curfew on March 22. Very few people used to come to Sangam during the entire lockdown period. However, with Unlock 1.0, now people have once again started coming to the Sangam banks and requesting boat rides, said Sunil Nishad, a boatmen who on routine days earns Rs 600 to Rs 700 per day from such rides.
This means we can again start earning and supporting our families, he added.
President of Prayagraj Navik Sangh, boatmen’s association, Papu Lal Nishad shared that a delegation of boatmen had recently met the district magistrate Bhanu Chandra Goswami and requested that operation of boats be allowed at Sangam.
“Our promise to strictly follow the guidelines led to the granting of permission,” he added. Gos
wami confirmed giving the permission.
“However they will strictly have to follow the set norms. The conditions include the boatman allowing a maximum of just five persons at a time, ensuring that the boatman and all visitors on the boat wear facemasks. Availability
and use of hand sanitizers on board the boats is also a must. Wearing of life saving jackets would also be mandatory,” he said.
The DM warned that violation of guidelines by the boatmen would invite fines and even withdrawal of permission to ply boats.