Rajasthan: 10 drown during Durga immersion, seven bodies recovered

October 9: During a Durga idol immersion ceremony in Dholpur district of Rajasthan, at least 10 people have drowned in Parbati river on Tuesday night. While seven bodies have been recovered the search operation is going on for others. Sharing information about the incident, Rajasthan Dholpur District collector Rakesh Jaiswal said, "A total of ten people have drowned. We have been able to recover seven bodies."

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SDRF and local divers called for assistance

The district administration called in a team of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) along with local divers for assistance. The district collector has confirmed that the families of the deceased will get Rs 1 Lakh from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund and the process for the same has been initiated.

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Two lives lost in Madhya Pradesh

A similar incident in Madhya Pradesh claimed the lives of two teenagers during the Durga immersion ceremony. The incident occurred when a group of people from Sanawad town arrived to immerse the idol of Goddess Durga in the Choral river near Barwaha town. Reports state confirm 18 and 16-year-old teens went deep inside the river while immersing the idol and got drowned. Police have stated that the site was designated for the immersion ceremony.

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Incidents of drowning have been witnessed every year during important ceremonies such as the Ganesh immersion and Durga idol immersion. This year's report states that several people died in Maharashtra by drowning during the Ganesh immersion ceremony in September. The drowning incidents were reported in 11 districts comprising Amravati, Nashik, Thane, Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri, Dhule, Bhandara, Nanded, Ahmednagar, Akola and Satara claiming 18 lives. A similar incident had been reported in Bhopal when a boat carrying 11 people with Ganesh idols capsized during the immersion process at night time in Khatlapura on the banks of the Lower Lake in Bhopal.

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