Six drowning deaths in Odisha mar Holi festivities

Bhubaneswar/Sundargarh/Keonjhar: Holi celebrations in Odisha were overshadowed by tragedy this year, as six persons, including four minors, lost their lives in separate drowning incidents across the state on Wednesday.

In Sundargarh district’s Kutra area, two minor siblings drowned in a pond near Litibeda village. Six-year-old Abhijit Toppo and his seven-year-old cousin Jisam Toppo had stepped out to play after celebrating Holi. When they did not return home for a long time, family members began searching for them and later found their bodies in a pond a few metres from the village. The children were rushed to the Kutra Community health Centre (CHC), where doctors declared them dead on arrival.

In a similar incident in Jhumpura area of Keonjhar district, seven-year-old Anku Gop drowned while bathing in a pond after playing Holi. The child, who had come to Sijukala village to visit his maternal uncle, reportedly did not know how to swim. His friends raised an alarm, and locals rescued him from the water. He was taken to the Champua Sub-Divisional Hospital, where doctors declared him dead. Police conducted an inquiry, and the body was handed over to the family after post-mortem.

In Jajpur district, a youth identified as Hiranya Kumar Behuria of Bari area drowned while bathing in the Brahmani river at Khari Padia after the festivities.

Another minor boy lost his life after being swept away by strong currents in the Mahanadi river in Baramba area of Cuttack district. Fire service personnel rescued him and rushed him to a nearby hospital, but he was declared dead on arrival.

In a separate incident in Byasanagar area of Jajpur district, a 40-year-old banker, Sangram Ajitabh Das of Padmapur under Jajpur Road police limits, drowned while bathing in the Kharasrota river following Holi celebrations. He was working as a senior official in a private bank.

The series of tragic incidents cast a shadow over Holi celebrations in several parts of the state.