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Five youngsters drowned in the Godavari river in Telangana’s Nirmal district on Sunday, June 15, police said.
The incident occurred at the temple town of Basar when they went into the river for a dip.
The deceased belonged to the same family and were residents of Chintal in Hyderabad. A total of 18 members of the family, originally hailing from Rajasthan, had gone to Basar for darshan at the Saraswati temple and for the holy bath in the river.
Before the darshan at the temple, they went to the river as part of the rituals. The youth went deep into the water and started drowning. According to eye-witnesses, the youth had no idea of the depth of the water.
Other family members, who were on the river banks, raised an alarm. Locals tried to rescue them but in vain. They alerted the police, who, with the help of expert swimmers, pulled out the bodies.
The water flow in the river had increased due to recent rains in the upstream.
The deceased have been identified as Rakesh, Vinod, Madan, Rutik and Bharat, all aged 20 years and under. The bodies have been shifted to the government hospital at Bhainsa.
In view of a series of such incidents at Godavari ghat, locals have demanded that the authorities take up adequate safety measures.
Minister for Transport and BC Welfare Ponnam Prabhakar expressed shock over the tragedy. He conveyed his condolences to the families of the deceased.
The minister advised people visiting rivers and irrigation projects to be careful. He also directed officials to install boards at reservoirs, rivers and projects, cautioning people about the depth.
Prabhakar pointed out that in January, five youths from Hyderabad drowned in the Kondapochamma reservoir. The students from Hyderabad had slipped into deep waters while attempting to click a selfie.
The minister recalled that a week ago, six youths had drowned in the Medigadda Barrage in the Jayashankar Bhupalapally district.