Imagine being in charge of a boat with dozens of people on board, and suddenly a storm hits. That's exactly what happened to Mahesh Patel, the pilot of a cruise boat that capsized in Jabalpur's Bargi dam. Patel took our team at NDTV through what he experienced that fateful day.

When the boat set off from Khamariya island, the weather was calm. But as they reached the middle of the water, strong winds started picking up. Patel said no one warned him about the bad weather, so he had to make a split-second decision to turn the boat back towards the shore. But it was too late, and the storm was too strong. Water started flooding the boat, and Patel knew they had to act fast.

Patel told us that several passengers had been dancing and having a good time on the boat, but when the water started coming in, panic set in. He said that he tried to save as many people as possible, but it was a chaotic situation. Patel even called for help and asked the ground teams to send another boat to evacuate the passengers.

Some survivors have come forward and said that they had sensed danger and asked the crew to turn the boat back. But Patel denies this, saying that no one had warned him about the impending danger. He also refuted claims that passengers had refused to wear life jackets, saying that many had initially refused them but later put them on when they realized the seriousness of the situation.

The accident was a traumatic experience for Patel, who has been a boat pilot for 15 years. He said that he is still haunted by the memories of that day and is struggling to come to terms with what happened. Patel also expressed his apology for the nine deaths and said that the dismissal of him and several crew members will affect his family, who depend on his salary.

The incident has led to a thorough investigation, and the Madhya Pradesh government has promised to take strict action against those found responsible. The government has also announced plans to introduce a new Standard Operating Procedure for cruise operations to prevent such accidents in the future.