Patna: More than 22 people drowned and six went missing in different rivers, canals and ponds across the state during the Chhath festivities on Thursday and Friday. Rohtas saw the most incidents, followed by Munger, Bhojpur, Saran and Begusarai districts, according to officials.
However, the state disaster management department has confirmed only 13 deaths. Umesh Kumar, monitoring and evaluation expert at the department, said, "A total of 13 people drowned across Bihar and three went missing during the Chhath. We have received reports of two deaths each in Begusarai, Rohtas, Khagaria, Bhagalpur and Munger districts. Three people were reported missing in Munger, Araria and Rohtas districts."
Rohtas district reported multiple tragedies with six drownings over 24 hours. Four members of a family from Pathara village in Tilouthu slipped into the Sone river during Chhath rituals. Three of them — Pintu Yadav (35), his son Bablu (12) and younger brother Sukhadi (31) — drowned, while another, Vikas Yadav, was rescued by locals. Their bodies were retrieved by a state disaster response force team the next morning. In a separate incident in Rohtas, a five-year-old boy drowned in a village pond on Friday morning.
In Munger district, three people drowned while performing Chhath rituals at different locations along the Ganga and one person went missing. One incident involved 20-year-old Abhishek Kumar, who went missing in the river near Jamalpur. Another case involved Prince Kumar (12) from Durmatta village, who drowned at a Chhath ghat site. In a similar incident, 16-year-old Sunny Kumar drowned at Tahua Pond while a 9-year-old girl, Sheetal Kumari, lost her life in the Belharni river.
In Saran, a boat carrying 10 youths capsized in a pond at Panchbhinda village. Two young men, Bitu Kumar (20) and Suraj Kumar Paswan (19), drowned. The other eight were rescued by locals. The incident sparked agitation when delays occurred in ambulance arrival, leading to road blockages near a fuel station. "Police have been investigating the incident from different angles, but the situation is now under control," Saran SP Kumar Ashish said. Locals also assaulted the boat sailor involved in the accident.
In Bhojpur district, two sisters, aged 9 and 13, drowned while trying to save their 10-year-old cousin, who is still missing. The incident took place in the Sone river near Andhari village. SHO Vivek Kumar said, "The two girls, Chhaya Kumari and Priya Kumari, died attempting to rescue Golu, who is still unaccounted for. Two other girls who tried to assist were saved by local villagers."
Other drownings included a 12-year-old girl in Aurangabad who slipped while bathing in the Adari river and an eight-year-old boy who drowned in Patna's Sone canal. Police and disaster response teams across the affected areas retrieved most of the bodies and handed them over to family members after autopsies.
(With inputs from Alok Chamaria in Sasaram, Praveen in Ara and H K Verma in Chhapra)