NBA protests as 2 men taking food for kin on boat electrocuted

Two persons were electrocuted and as many others injured on Monday when their boat came into contact with cables of the electricity polls lying submerged in the backwaters of Gujarat's Sardar Sarovar dam in Barwani district of Madhya Pradesh, police said.

The incident occurred when Chiman Darbar (40) and Santosh Singh Mankar (35) along with others were trying to reach Rajghat village, which has turned into an island due to backflow of the dam water, with food items and other essentials for their families.

"The incident occurred in the submergence area near Rajghat, which lies inundated in the backwaters of the Sardar Sarovar Dam in Gujarat," said district collector Amit Tomar.

He said the boat was reportedly going to Rajghat from Barwani when it came into contact with the power cables.

The deceased Darbar and Mankar were residents of Rajghat village.

One of the survivors, Babu Singh, told reporters that when they were going to the island village in a boat they were stopped by local authorities, apparently due to heavy influx of water.

Singh said they took another route to reach the village.

He said their boat almost rammed into the electricity cables hanging around two feet above water.

"When Mankar lifted the wires to make way for the boat, he suffered shock. He was apparently under impression that power supply to the polls was disconnected. Darbar, who was sitting near Mankar, also suffered shock," he said, adding that they died on spot.

Singh said he and another person who were on board the boat sustained injuries while another escaped unhurt.

Later, villagers staged a protest led by Narmada Bachao Andolan leader Medha Patkar against the administration.

Demanding that gates of the Sardar Sarovar dam be opened, Patkar claimed around 32,000 families in the submergence area in Madhya Pradesh side have not been evacuated.