The Kerala Tourism Development Corporation boat 'Jalakanyaka', which sank in the Thekkady lake in the first week of October, killing 45 tourists, suffered from faulty construction.
A probe conducted by a committee appointed by the state government and headed by Dr Pyarelal, head of the department of Ship Technology in Cochin University of Science and Technology, has concluded in its report that there were severe technical faults in the construction of the boat.
The expert committee has also found faults in the design, construction and the subsequent quality check of the boat. The committee has recommended stringent action against the people responsible for the shoddy construction of the boat.
The 188-page report will be submitted to the Crime Branch on Tuesday.
The report adds that the people who checked the tender papers for the construction of the boat did not have proper technical expertise. Though design faults were found at the earlier stage of the construction of the boat, no action was taken to rectify the errors.
The report highlights this serious lapse on the part of those who cleared the design.
The report has also strongly criticised the state tourism department, which had called for the tender, and the KTDC, whose personnel were operating the boat.
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