New Delhi, May 2 (IANS): Two days after a boat disaster in Assam killed an estimated 270 people, Rajya Sabha member Birendra Prasad Baishya Wednesday sought New Delhi's assistance to modernize ferries in the state.
Raising the issue in the zero hour session of parliament, Baishya expressed grief over the accident, calling it one of the worst disastes in the state.
"There is an urgent need to modernise these ferries. The central government should help," he said.
Baishya suggested that the government should develop water transport in the state on the lines of the ongoing National Urban Renewal Mission.
He said the boat which capsized in Assam's Dhubri district Monday evening had sold 350 tickets and around 400 passengers were expected to be on board when it was struck by a storm in the Brahmaputra river.