Five children drowned in different events throughout Odisha today, November 15, turning the festive celebration of Kartik Purnima with the traditional "Boita Bandana" (sailing small boats) into a tragic event.
The children, who ranged in age from five to twelve, perished while taking part in the yearly ritual of floating colourful small boats in ponds, rivers, and other bodies of water, PTI reports.
Two five-year-old girls in Balasore drowned in a pond in Panishapada village, which is within the jurisdiction of Basta police.
In the absence of their family, the victims — daughters of Dilip Kumar Das and Manas Nanda — went to retrieve the little boats from the village pond.
Authorities subsequently retrieved their bodies, according to police.
According to authorities, a three-year-old boy drowned in a pond in Saundia village, which is within the jurisdiction of Khaira police, in another occurrence in Balasore.
In the Cuttack district, a similar occurrence occurred when a three-year-old boy, identified as the son of one Pradipta Bhoi, drowned while attempting to retrieve the boats from a pond in Karamuan village, which is part of the Salepur block.
A 12-year-old girl named Sabitri Hantal drowned in a Champanagar pond in Malkangiri district after falling into the deep water while trying to get coins that had been dropped on the festival's miniature boats, according to authorities.
They stated that although she was swiftly saved and taken to a local hospital, she was pronounced dead when they got there.
