Three Bodies Retrieved From Rivers Across Rayagada, 14-Year-Old Feared Drowned
By Dr Badal Kumar Tah,Odishabarta
Rayagada, Nov 4: A string of drowning incidents across various rivers in Rayagada district has claimed three lives and left one teenager missing, triggering widespread grief across the region.
According to official sources, two minors were involved in separate mishaps while bathing with friends. On Monday, Prabhat Pani (14) of Dhepa Sahi slipped into deep water while bathing in the Nagavali River. Fire services personnel promptly launched search-and-rescue operations following an alert from the family; however, search teams had failed to trace him as of Tuesday evening. In another incident on Tuesday, seven-year-old Kanhai Kaushalya of Nuasahi was swept away by strong currents while bathing with friends in the Jhanjhabati River. Local fire brigade teams initiated an immediate operation and recovered the child’s body near Ambaguda Ghat later that evening.
Separately, police retrieved the body of an unidentified male, estimated to be around 40 years old, from the Tikarakantua Ghat of the Nagavali River under Sheshkhal Police Station limits on Tuesday, confirmed Police Inspector Kshirod Chandra Bag. Meanwhile, in Gunupur Municipality, the body of 70-year-old B. Pagadalu, a resident of Katwaluguda (Ward No. 4), was recovered from the Vansadhara River 48 hours after she reportedly went missing while bathing. The sudden surge in drowning fatalities across local water bodies has cast a pall of gloom over the district, prompting calls for heightened caution around river ghats.
