Bhagalpur: CM Samrat Choudhary on Saturday announced ex-gratia of Rs4 lakh each to bereaved family whose children got drowned in Ganga river in Jhallu Das Tola under Rangra block in Naugachia subdivision of Bhagalpur district. Three children, including two teenagers, drowned while taking a bath at Ganga ghat during the ‘mundan’ rituals. The deceased were identified as Gaurav Kumar (10), Sakshi Kumari (16) and Moni Kumari (17). Gaurav and Sakshi were siblings and children of Kumod Yadav.A group of 35 members, including females and children, all close relatives, from Bhatgama in Madhepura district came to Ganga ghat in Jhallu Das Tola under Rangra block of Naugachia subdivision for the Mundan ceremony (first hair-cutting / tonsuring) of 10 year old Gaurav. After the mundane rituals, the children entered the Ganga ghat (embankment) for taking holy dip when they slipped and got swept away in the flowing water of Ganga.Local people and divers immediately launched rescue efforts after the family members and relatives present on the ghat raised the alarm on Friday afternoon. A police team from Rangra PS also arrived after being informed, and a rescue operation along with the state disaster response force (SDRF) team was launched, but in vain.Later, the SDRF rescue team and the Rangra police recovered the bodies of the deceased in the late evening hours on Friday and, after making preliminary investigations, sent the bodies for postmortem.SHO Rangra PS Bishwabandhu, when contacted by TNN on Saturday, said that the rescue team saved two others alive out of five drowned in the river. Three drowned as they were swept away in the deep water, added the SHO, saying bodies of three were recovered after much effort in the late evening hours. The bodies of the deceased children were handed over to the family after getting the post-mortems done at Naugachia hospital, added the SHO.
