NEW DELHI, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- India's junior minister for tourism K J Alphons has asked states to take steps to prevent boat incidents in the future, a government spokesman said Friday.
The minister has sent a letter to the states and union territories.
"The minister has requested the Chief Ministers of the states and Lt. Governors and administrators of the union territories to put in place a protocol so that in future such incidents do not take place," the spokesman said.
The minister's direction came after a tourist boat capsized on Sunday evening in Krishna river in southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, killing 21 people.
"In a letter the minister expressed his astonishment at the fact that the boat in which the tourist were ferried had no license and the boat was overcrowded beyond the capacity and had no security equipment like life jackets on board, which is gross violation of basic stipulations," the spokesman said.
Authorities have arrested seven people in connection with Sunday's boat tragedy.
Boat mishaps are common in India, mainly because of overloading.
In April, 13 people drowned after a boat capsized in the state of Andhra Pradesh.
