Ganesha immersion in Maharashtra, 7 drown
Indo-Asian News Service
Sunday, September 14, 2008, (Mumbai)
Seven people drowned in four separate incidents in Maharashtra during Ganesh immersion on Sunday, the police said.
Four men were washed away in the raging sea waters at Murugwada in Ratnagiri district, the police said and three others were drowned. The villagers and the police managed to rescue one - Rajesh Suryakant Birje, 30, according to the police.
The three who have perished are Nitin Prabhakar Waghdare, 48, Romesh Suryakant Birje, 28 and Kashinath Dharmaji Birje, 45. The police managed to recover the body of Waghdare and efforts were underway to locate the other two victims.
Two youths drowned in a lake at Tapovan in Nashik town, when they lost their balance and slipped in the waters. The city fire brigade was attempting to fish out their bodies.
In another incident, a youth was washed away in the receding low tide waters at Rajapur town and efforts are continuing to locate his body.
A youth fell from a bridge into a river and lost his life in Adgaon-Ranjegua village of Parbhani district. Police said his body has not yet been recovered yet.
Barring these tragic incidents, Ganesh immersion has been continuing peacefully in Mumbai and other parts of the state since dawn Sunday.
Stringent security measures have been enforced in Mumbai in the wake of the Delhi serial blasts Saturday. The police, along with other paramilitary forces, have been deployed in full strength to ward off any incident.
At main immersion points like Girgaum Chowpatty Beach in south Mumbai and Juhu Beach in northwest part, as well as Versova, Marve and Gorai beaches, the police have installed closed circuit television cameras to monitor the situation.
Despite heavy rains lashing the city and the coastal Konkan region, millions of people were on the roads to witness the Ganesh immersion ceremonies in wells, ponds, lakes, rivers and the sea.
Cries of "Ganpati Bappa Moraya, Pudhchya Varshi Lavkarya" rent the air as thousands of big and small idols of Lord Ganesh were immersed into the waters.