Dozens of children have drowned while bathing in rivers and ponds during rituals that were part of a three-day Hindu festival in eastern India’s Bihar state after heavy monsoon rains recently raised the levels of waterways across the state. The incident happened on September 26, 2024.
Preliminary reports indicate that the state’s water bodies have been overflowing following heavy rains, resulting in treacherous conditions during the festival, which involves bathing rituals.
According to the Hindu culture, the three-day Jivitputrika festival celebrates children’s wellbeing every year and is also marked with mothers fasting for them.
The authorities in Bihar said that the deaths were reported in Aurangabad, Saran, Rohtas, West Champaran, East Champaran, Nalanda, Buxar, Siwan, Vaishali, Gopalganj, Muzaffarpur, and Arwal districts.
A statement from Bihar’s disaster management department noted that at least 46 people, including 37 children, drowned in separate incidents across the state’s 15 districts. Authorities have recovered 43 bodies so far, and the three missing people are presumed to be dead.
During the annual festival, mothers fast for 24 hours for the well-being of their children. The women are sometimes accompanied by their children when they visit rivers and ponds for cleansing rituals. The festival concluded Thursday.
Police in the area confirmed seven people to have drowned in Kaimur, of whom four were teenagers, while two were swept away by the Durgavati River in Rupur village of the Bhabua area, and five lost their lives in Kalyanpur village. Additionally, in Saran’s Chhapra, five children drowned; five people, including four women, drowned in Patna, and four girls were washed away by the Sone River in Bihta.
Eyewitnesses said that the four had gone swimming in the river late in the evening and were swept away by the strong currents.
The state government has announced compensation of 400,000 rupees ($4,784) for the families of each of the dead.
Deadly accidents like drowning and stampedes during religious festivals are common in India.
In July, at least 121 people were killed after severe overcrowding and a lack of exits contributed to a stampede at a religious festival in northern India.
