By Neeraj Kumar
Patna, June 17: On Sunday, during Ganga Dussehra celebrations, several people went missing after drowning in the Ganga River at different locations in Bihar. In Bhojpur, four youths from Bara Kharoni village, Bihiya police station area, drowned while taking a selfie during their bath and subsequently went missing. In a separate incident in Barh, Patna district, a boat capsized in the Ganga, leaving four people missing. Rescue operations continued on Monday following the incidents. The bodies of the four youths were recovered in Bhojpur, while two of the four missing from the boat accident in Barh have also been found.
The boat accident occurred on Sunday at the Umanath Ganga river ghat under Barh police station in Patna. The boat was crowded with devotees, including some from Nalanda, attempting to cross the Ganga. Midway, the boat became uncontrollable and overturned. Over a dozen people were on the boat; many swam to safety, but four individuals drowned. Despite search efforts on Sunday, their whereabouts remained unknown until Monday when divers recovered the bodies of two of the missing individuals. The search for the remaining two continues.
In Bhojpur, the incident involved four youths from Bara Kharoni village who went to bathe in the Ganga on Sunday. While making social media reels, one youth ventured into deep water, and the other three drowned while attempting to rescue him. The search for these youths began on Sunday and continued into Monday.
According to the latest information, all four bodies have been recovered from Shivpur Ghat of Lalganj OP area in Ballia district, Uttar Pradesh. The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and divers had been conducting the search since Sunday. The recovery of the bodies has left the families of the deceased in distress. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has expressed his condolences and announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 4 lakh each to the families of the deceased.
The author is a Patna based journalist
