Narrow escape for Sourav Ganguly's brother, his wife as speedboat capsizes in Puri

Snehasish Ganguly, elder brother of former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly and President of the Cricket Association of Bengal, along with his wife Arpita, were rescued after their speedboat capsized off the coast of Puri on Saturday evening. The incident took place near the Lighthouse area while the couple was engaged in a water sports activity.

According to eyewitness accounts, the boat was hit by a large wave described by Arpita as “almost ten-storey high,” which caused the vessel to lose balance and overturn. The capsizing threw all passengers, including Snehasish and Arpita Ganguly, into the sea. The sea conditions at the time were reported to be rough with high tides.

Arpita Ganguly stated, “We were saved by the grace of God. Lifeguards reached quickly and rescued us using rubber floats.” She also mentioned that the boat was unstable due to carrying only four passengers despite being designed for ten, which contributed to the loss of balance. She raised concerns about the safety of the boat and the rough sea conditions before the incident but was assured by the operators that it was safe to proceed.

Local police confirmed that lifeguards deployed on the beach acted promptly to rescue the couple and other passengers from the turbulent waters. Eyewitnesses reported that the speedboat was operated by untrained personnel working under a private adventure company, which was allegedly conducting water sports without official permission from the Puri district administration.

Following the incident, Arpita Ganguly said she plans to write to the Superintendent of Police of Puri and the Chief Minister of Odisha demanding stricter regulation of water sports activities in the area. Local residents also expressed concerns regarding the lack of proper safety protocols and the need for tighter monitoring of adventure sport operators.