Dozens of children drown during ritual river bathing at Hindu festival

by · Mail Online

Dozens of children tragically drowned during ritualistic bathing in rivers and ponds at a three-day Hindu festival in eastern India's Bihar state, officials have said.

Heavy monsoon rains had recently raised water levels across the state, killing dozens and displacing thousands as houses collapse into the Ganges.

At least 46 people, including 37 children, drowned in separate incidents across 15 districts during the Jitiya festival, a statement from Bihar's disaster management department said.

Authorities have recovered 43 bodies so far, and the three missing people are presumed to be dead.

The state government has announced compensation of 400,000 rupees (£3,572) for the families of each of the dead. 

Naga sadhus run in to bathe in the waters of the holy Ganges during the Maha Kumbh Mela festival in India in 2013 (File photo)
Hindu holy men take a holy dip in the waters of the Ganges during a religious ceremony in 2021

During the annual festival, mothers fast for 24 hours for the wellbeing of their children. 

The women are sometimes accompanied by their children when they visit rivers and ponds for cleansing rituals. 

Seven women were reported to have drowned across the 15 districts during the Jitiya festival.

Disaster management groups are still conducting search operations to rescue survivors. 

Officials in Bihar said that people were ignoring the dangerous water levels in rivers to take part in the ceremony, which concluded on Thursday.

Heavy rains and floods have affected several provinces of India in recent weeks, killing scores of people.

Climate change is believed to have made monsoon weather more unstable, with the warming of the Indian Ocean creating 'flying rivers' lasting through the summer into September.

Deadly accidents such as drownings and stampedes during religious festivals are common in India.

Houses partially submerged in flood water from the River Ganges, in Patna on September 20
Flood-affected people along with their belongings, move to a safer place in a boat after rise in the water level of river Ganges following heavy rains, in Patna on September 23

In July, at least 121 people were killed after severe overcrowding and a lack of exits contributed to a stampede at a religious festival in northern India.

In March, heavy rain caused the ceiling of an airport to collapse.

Nobody was reported to have been injured , but flights from Guwahati airport in northeast India were suspended.

Travellers were then seen evacuating the terminal as water and pieces of ceiling poured into the building.

Footage showed water pouring into the another part of the terminal, showering over shops and flooding an airport restaurant.