Two youth died in separate incidents at Medaram on Tuesday, a day ahead of the start of the biennial Sammakka -Saralamma jatara on Wednesday.
Battu Vinay, 22, a resident of Maredpally in Secunderabad, drowned in Jampannavagu stream when he went for swimming on Tuesday. Devotees take a holy dip in Jampannavagu before they offer prayers to the deities’ altars, locally known as ‘gaddelu’.
In another incident, 22-year-old Tama Vinod died after he reportedly suffered convulsions. He was a resident of Dummugudem village in Bhadradri Kothagudem district.
According to the police, Vinod went to take a holy dip in Jampannavagu before offering prayers to the deities. Vinod entered the water for bathing and suffered convulsions and breathlessness and died on the spot. The youth reportedly had sudden seizures and fell unconscious, said the police. Another version is that Vinod suffered convulsions even before he entered the water at the bathing ghat.
Vinod’s body was shifted to Mulugu district area hospital for post mortem, said police.
The officials have deployed 300 swimmers at various points along the stretch of the jampannavagu for the jatara.