Mumbai: The sacred festival of Ganesh Visarjan turned tragic across Maharashtra as multiple incidents of death caused due to drowning and electrocution surfaced, casting a pall of grief over the festivities.
In Pune district, four people lost their lives in separate drowning incidents during immersion. At Waki Khurd, two youths drowned in the Bhama river — a 20-year-old student from Koyali and a 19-year-old youth from Uttar Pradesh.
While one body has been recovered, the search for the other continues. In separate incidents, one person drowned in a well at Biradwadi and another in the Bhima river near Shelpimpalgaon, the latter being a 45-year-old man.
At Biradwadi village in Chakan, an incident of a 36-year-old Sandesh Popat Nikam drowning in a well while immersing an idol was caught on the camera. Despite knowing how to swim, he lost his life while attempting to come out of the well. His body was later recovered by the NDRF team.
In Nanded district, three men entered the Asna river at Gadegaon Shivar for immersion. One was rescued, but Balaji Ubale and Yogesh Ubale were swept away in the strong current. An SDRF team has launched a search operation, but both remain missing.
In Mumbai’s Sakinaka area, a tragic electrocution claimed one life during an immersion procession of Shri Gajanan Mitra Mandal. The trolley carrying the idol came in contact with a high-tension 11,000-volt wire on Khairani Road. Binu Shivkumar (36) died on the spot, while five others: Tushar Gupta (18), Dharmaraj Gupta (44), Aarush Gupta (12), Shambhu Kami (20), and Karan Kanojia (14), sustained serious injuries and are undergoing treatment.
In Shahapur taluka (Thane district), three youths were swept away in the Bhargavi river at Mundewadi during immersion. One was rescued by a local lifeguard team, but the search is still underway for Datta Lote, Pratik Jadhav, and Kuldeep Joker.
These tragic incidents have overshadowed the otherwise joyous Ganesh festival, leaving families and communities in mourning.
