Ahmedabad, Sep 25 Seven youths drowned on Friday in two separate incidents, one related to Ganesh idol immersion, in Gujarat’s Surat and Amreli districts, officials said.
The bodies of two youths who drowned on Thursday in Morbi district were also recovered in the past 24 hours, they added.
In Surat, three youths had taken a small fishing boat and ventured into the river near Dhoran Pardi village for Ganesh idol immersion, but they drowned when the vessel capsized after getting disbalanced, Kamrej police station inspector RB Gojiya said.
Gojiya identified the three as Shardul Mer (23), Raju Mer (23) and Dana Shiyaliya (26), all residents of Kholvad village in Kamrej taluka.
The bodies have been recovered and sent for post mortem, he added.
An artificial pond had been created for idol immersion about 300 metres from the residences of the three, but they instead opted to go to Tapi river eight kilometres away, the official pointed out.
In a separate incident in Amreli district, four youths drowned in a check dam at Mota Devaliya in Babra taluka, an official said.
Kanubhai Shingala and Sachinbhai Shingala, both residents of Mota Devaliya, and Bhala Jethva and Kevin Jethva of Navagadh had gone to the check dam for bathing, he informed.
The bodies have been recovered, the official said.
In Morbi, a group had gone to Machchhu river near Sadulka village during Ganesh idol immersion on Thursday.
Four youths in the group began drowning, a local official said, adding that two of them, Akash Maliya and Akash Gajanand, were rescued by the Morbi Municipal Corporation fire department.
A search was launched for the other two youths, identified as Vilas Gaikwad and Sohan Kuldiya.
Gaikwad’s body was recovered around midnight on Thursday, while that of Kuldiya was found on Friday afternoon, Morbi Chief Fire Officer Devendrasinh Jadeja said.
(PTI News)
