Six drown during Ganesh immersions across Pune district
After reaching the Bham River ghat behind Priyadarshan School, Ghoddari, Waki Khurd at around 2.30 pm, the group proceeded to immerse the idols when two of them could not gauge the depth of the water and drowned
At least four persons have died during Ganesh immersions across Pune district, casting a pall of gloom over an otherwise festive atmosphere.
On Saturday at Mahatma Phule Chowk, Chakan, around nine to 10 students of the Shiv Shahi Career Academy owned by Manoj Gundu Buva went to immerse the academy’s as well as other Ganesh idols. After reaching the Bham River ghat behind Priyadarshan School, Ghoddari, Waki Khurd at around 2.30 pm, the group proceeded to immerse the idols when two of them could not gauge the depth of the water and drowned. The deceased have been identified as Abhishek Ashok Bhakre, 21, a resident of Koyali, Chakan; and Anant Jaiswal, 30, also a resident of Chakan. While another person was reportedly missing.
Elsewhere at Pawar Vasti, Birdwadi, Sandesh Popat Nikam, 36, a resident of Birdwadi who had gone for the immersion of a household Ganesh idol at around 2 pm on Saturday, slipped and fell into a private well while trying to immerse the idol in it. Luckily, he was rescued with the help of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and sent to Chakan Rural Hospital for treatment.
In a third incident, an unidentified man who had gone to the Bhima River ghat in Shelpimpalgaon for the immersion of a household Ganesh idol at around 5.30 pm on September 6 was reported to have been swept away from the left side of the bridge. Ever since, officers and staff from Chakan police station, with the help of the NDRF, had been conducting search operations. Finally at around 11 am on September 7, the body of the man was found stuck near Siddhegavhan dam. He was later identified as Ravindra Vasudev Chaudhary, 45, a resident of Rase Phata originally from Jalgaon. The body was recovered and sent to Chakan Rural Hospital for a post-mortem.
Sanjay Solankhe, senior police inspector at Chakan police station, said that despite a local boy having arranged artificial immersion tanks, people were choosing to go to risky places for immersion.
In yet another incident, Bhimrao Laxman Cherale, 30, a resident of Talegaon Dhamdhere originally from Nanded, drowned in the Bhima River on Saturday during Ganesh immersion. The police said that when Cherale and his friend Arjun Rathod entered the river for immersion, Cherale could not gauge the force of the water and drowned. Another person was reportedly swept away, but his body was yet to be recovered.
The police said that while immersion arrangements had been made at various ghats and artificial ponds across the district, some devotees threw caution to the wind by choosing unsafe spots for idol immersion.
