Twin Drowning Incidents in Chhattisgarh Claim Three Lives
In a heartbreaking incident, a pregnant mother jumped into deep waters to save her drowning eight-year-old daughter at Ghoghra dam in Chhattisgarh's Jashpur district. However, neither of them resurfaced. In a separate incident within a few hours, over 300 km away, a 20-year-old youth rescued a drowning boy at a picnic spot but was swept away himself.
The twin drowning incidents on Sunday left families shattered while exposing the deadly risks lurking beneath crowded village reservoirs and picnic dams during the peak summer season.
Incident at Ghoghra Dam
After witnessing her mother and eight-year-old sister disappear into the deep water at Ghoghra dam, 10-year-old Aradhana Tigga ran back to her village, soaked, trembling, and screaming for help. By the time villagers reached the reservoir in Pathalgaon, only slippers, clothes, and a plastic bucket lay abandoned near the bank.
The deceased were identified as Sukanti Tigga, around 30, a resident of Balajhar village, and her daughter Meenakshi. Villagers said Sukanti was six to eight months pregnant.
According to police, Sukanti had gone to the dam with her two daughters to wash clothes and bathe on Sunday afternoon. While the children were near the shallow edge, Meenakshi drifted towards deeper water. Seeing her daughter slip deeper, Sukanti jumped in to save her. Elder daughter Aradhana also plunged in out of panic but somehow managed to swim back to safety. However, Sukanti and Meenakshi were pulled deeper into the reservoir before anyone could reach them.
Within minutes, dozens of villagers gathered at the dam and launched a frantic search operation. After hours of effort involving villagers, local divers, and police personnel, both bodies were finally recovered. Pathalgaon SDOP Dhruvesh Jaiswal said police immediately reached the spot after receiving information and sent the bodies for postmortem examination.
Incident at Chachai Dam
In the Ratanpur area of neighboring Bilaspur district, a group of about 10 to 15 youths had gone for a picnic near Chachai dam when a boy bathing in the reservoir suddenly slipped into deep water and started drowning. Seeing the child struggle, 20-year-old Dheeraj Ratre jumped into the dam and managed to pull the boy out on his back. But moments after saving the child, Dheeraj himself got trapped in the deep water and strong current. Before his friends could react, he disappeared into the waters.
Panic spread across the picnic spot as his companions alerted police and local residents. Rescue teams, along with villagers, searched the reservoir for nearly two hours before recovering his body. Both incidents triggered emotional scenes in the villages, with grieving families and residents struggling to come to terms with the deaths that came while trying to save lives.
