Patna: Six children drowned in separate incidents in Patna and Katihar districts on Monday, turning what was meant to be a day of religious observance on the third Somwari of Shrawan into a day of mourning.In Patna, the incident took place around 6.15am near Ranisarai village under Bakhtiyarpur police station area, where seven girls from the same family had gone to the Ganga river to bathe before offering prayers at a temple. One of them ventured into deep water and began drowning. The other girls rushed to save her, but all seven were caught in the strong current.Locals managed to rescue three girls, while four were swept by the strong current of the river. Police and the SDRF team reached the spot and launched a search operation. Three bodies were recovered till evening, while the search for the third girl continued. The three deceased girls were identified as Nandini Kumari (16), daughter of Awadhesh Chandravanshi; Radhika Kumari (14), daughter of Kamlesh Chandravanshi and 12-year-old Asmita Kumari, daughter of Mantu Chandravanshi. All seven girls were cousins.The incident triggered anger among villagers and relatives, who gathered at the ghat and demanded immediate rescue efforts. Villagers also blocked Bakhtiyarpur road for around half-an-hour over the delay in the deployment of the SDRF team. Rescue personnel said they were facing difficulties due to the strong current and depth of the Ganga river.Bakhtiyarpur SHO Devanand Sharma said the rescue team recovered bodies of three girls, while Aarti Kumari (20), daughter of Awadhesh Chandravanshi, was still missing. “The bodies were sent to a govt hospital for the postmortem. All the girls are from the same family and went to the ghat to bathe in the river with their family. One started drowning while the others were caught in the current in an effort to save their cousin,” he said.In Katihar, three children drowned after five of them went to Barandi river in Morsanda village under Phalka police station area around 6am to bathe before visiting a nearby Shiva temple to offer water. While bathing, all five entered deep water and began drowning. Villagers and local divers managed to rescue two of them, but the other three drowned.The deceased were Satyam Kumar, Divyanshu Kumar and Aman Kumar. The three were declared dead after being brought to a hospital. Police from Phalka police station reached the spot and initiated action. The incident has left the village in mourning, while residents have raised concerns over the lack of safety arrangements along the Barandi river. They demanded barricades and warning signs at dangerous stretches and also renewed their demand for a bridge over the river.
