In a tragic mishap, at least five people, including four children died after a section of an under-construction culvert reportedly collapsed in the Kalyansinghpur block of Odisha’s Rayagada district on Monday, police said.
The incident took place in Uparasaja village of Kalyansinghpur block at around 11:00 am.
As per reports, the culvert, which is being constructed by the Rural Development department, caved in when the children were bathing in the nullah and went near the structure in the morning. They were bathing in the rainwater that accumulated under the culvert when the incident happened. On getting information, police and fire services personnel reached the spot and began clearing the debris.
Odisha Law Minister Jagannath Saraka, local MLA Makaranda Muduli and Rayagada SP Vivekanand Sharma also visited the spot and took stock of the situation.
MLA Makaranda Muduli called it a very unfortunate incident and stressed that necessary action must be taken against the people responsible for the mishap.
Expressing grief over the loss of lives in the incident, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced Rs 4 lakh ex-gratia each for the family members deceased. The CM has also directed the authorities to take strong action against officials responsible for the mishap.