Four Children Drown During Immersion of Ganesh Idol in Madhya Pradesh's Datia

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(Photo: PTI)

A Ganesh idol immersion ceremony in Madhya Pradesh took a tragic turn when four children drowned to death.

Details: The incident took place at a pond in Niraval Bidaniya village in the state's Datia district on Tuesday, 26 September.

• Ten children fell into a pit while immersing the Ganesh idol.

• While four died, the other six were reportedly rescued and are being treated at a district hospital.

• Three girls and one boy are among the deceased children.

Know more: "There is a temple nearby in the village where these children all under 15 years of age had gone to immerse the Ganesh idol without an adult supervisor. There is a pit of about 8-10 feet depth and probably one child fell and others must have jumped to save him," said Datia Police Superintendent (SP) Pradeep Sharma.

• A local resident who was performing a ritual nearby rushed to the children's rescue.

• They managed to recover six children, but the other four could not be saved.

Why it matters: The horrific mishap raised concerns among the villagers over the lack of safety measures that are in place during the ten-day Hindu festival where Ganesh idols are installed throughout villages and cities – and later immersed.

Of note: The administration has failed to proactively deploy safety measures to avoid any untoward incident during the idol immersion proceedings, locals told The Quint.

Next: "Post-mortem examinations for the deceased children will be conducted tomorrow," police said.