Bhubaneswar: Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairy Parshottam Rupala had a scare on Sunday evening when his boat got stuck in Odisha’s Chilika Lake for around two hours.
The incident took place when the minister accompanied by BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra and a few local party leaders, was travelling from Barkul in Khurda district to Satapada in Puri district through the blue lagoon. The district administration got into a tizzy as they went incommunicado and sent another vessel, which rescued the Union Minister and took him to his destination.
Rupala was stranded in the motorised boat for approximately two hours near Nalabana bird sanctuary, according to a security official assigned to the minister’s convoy.
While earlier it was suspected that the boat might have got stuck in dense weeds or a net laid by fishermen, the Union minister later clarified that they lost their way in the lake. “It got dark and the man steering the boat was new to the route and we lost our way. It took us two more hours to reach Satapada,” the minister later told reporters.
Rupala had to cancel his proposed meeting at Brahmagiri due to the incident and reached Puri around 10.30 pm.
The Union minister is currently visiting Odisha as part of the 11th phase of the ‘Sagar Parikrama’ program, where he will engage with local fishermen.
