Kendrapada/Berhampur/Rourkela/Koraput: As many as 12 people, including seven children, drowned in separate incidents across five districts on Wednesday, with eight deaths occurring during Ganesh idol immersion and four while bathing. Four young men from Orala village drowned in Budha river during immersion under Earsama police station limits in Jagatsinghpur district.According to police and eyewitness accounts, the incident took place around 1 pm when a group of villagers went to the river for immersion. Sushil Palei (25), Manjit Swain (25), Rashmi Ranjan Nayak (26) and Swapnajeet Barik (22), all residents of Orala village, were swept away by strong water currents. Hearing their frantic cries for help, nearby locals rushed to rescue them but were thwarted by the swift water flow.A local, Dhaneswar Rout, said a deep pit near the river’s entry point caused the victims to instantly lose their footing. Personnel from the local fire brigade and Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force retrieved all four. The victims were taken to the community health centre (CHC) in Earsama, where attending doctors declared them dead on arrival. Police seized the bodies and transferred them to the CHC at Kujang for postmortem. Assistant sub-inspector Pramod Kumar Ray said they have launched an investigation.Meanwhile, four teenagers drowned during immersions in Ganjam and Bhadrak districts. In Ganjam, three school students drowned during Ganesh idol immersion in two separate incidents. Class IX students Adarsh Sahu and Preetam Sameli (both 14) drowned in Ghodahada river in Hinjili, while Sitanshu Jena (13), a Class VIII student, in a village pond at Sidhakhandi under Digapahandi police station limits.Adarsh and Preetam were part of a group of students who had gone for idol immersion. During the ceremony, the two reportedly slipped into deep water. Fire services personnel later rescued them and shifted them to the sub-divisional hospital in Hinjili, where doctors declared them dead.Sitanshu also went to the pond with fellow students from his coaching centre to immerse a Ganesh idol when he slipped into deep water, according to police. Villagers rescued him and rushed him to MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur, where doctors declared him dead.The bodies were handed over to the families after postmortem.Another tragedy struck during immersion in Digachia under Chandbali block of Bhadrak district, when a 15-year-old Class XI student drowned.Meanwhile, three girls drowned while bathing in Sankh river under Raiboga police limits in Sundargarh district on Wednesday morning. According to police, Sibika Sahu (7), Gitika Sahu (6) and Shruti Kumari (9), all residents of Majhatoli village under Salangabahal panchayat, went to the river around 8.30am along with their friend Pratap Sahu (9). While bathing, the girls reportedly slipped into deep water and went missing. Pratap raised an alarm, prompting villagers living nearby to rush to the spot. They pulled the girls out of the river and informed police.The children were first taken to Jambahal primary health centre. As no doctor was available there, they were shifted to Birmitrapur CHC, where doctors declared them brought dead. Raiboga police reached the hospital and launched an investigation. The bodies have been sent for postmortem. “We have registered an unnatural death case and are investigating the circumstances leading to the incident. The bodies will be handed over to the families after the inquest and postmortem,” said Dibya Oram, inspector in charge (IIC) of Raiboga police station.In a similar incident, a 56-year-old man drowned while taking a bath in a village pond at Tikarapoda in Dasmantpur block of Koraput district.According to sources, Lim Dishari (56) slipped into deep water and drowned before he could be rescued.Following the incident, his younger son, Manobadh Dishari, lodged a written complaint at Dasmantpur police station.Acting on the complaint, a police team, led by SI Susmita Malik and ASI Rabindra Badakumar, visited the spot at the direction of Dasmantpur police station IIC Charan Singh Majhi. “Fire services personnel and local villagers recovered the body, which was sent for postmortem by police, and was later hand over to the family,” said the IIC.
