Patna boat tragedy 'failure' of Nitish govt: Radha Mohan Singh

Holding the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar Government responsible for the Patna boat tragedy, Union Minister Radha Mohan Singh on Sunday said the tragic event shows the failure of the grand alliance government in the state.

Singh said, "This event was organised by the Bihar Government and this incident is an example of the failure of the Bihar Government. This shows how the government is working on ground."

At least 24 people were killed when a country boat capsized in river Ganga near NIT ghat in Patna last evening.

According to reports, the victims were returning from diara area after participating in a Kite festival organised by the state government on the occasion of 'Makar Sankranti'.

The Bihar Government has constituted a three-member inquiry team headed by Principal Secretary of State Disaster Department Pratya Amrit to look into the matter.

The state government has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh to the family of the deceased.

In the wake of the tragedy, a programme to mark the start of redevelopment work of Mahatma Gandhi Setu in Patna which the Prime Minister was to address via video conferencing has been postponed.