Beed (Maharashtra), Jun 10 (PTI) Two women drowned and one was critical after an overcrowded boat carrying devotees to a temple capsized in the Godavari river in Maharashtra’s Beed district on Wednesday, officials said.
The incident occurred around 11 am in Majalgaon tehsil.
The boat was heading to Purushottampuri, a shrine dedicated to Lord Purushottam, located about 20 km from Majalgaon tehsil. Devotees travel by boat on the river to reach the temple, an official said.
The shrine has been witnessing a huge influx of devotees from across Maharashtra and the country due to the ongoing holy month of ‘Adhik Maas’.
A boat carrying 30 to 40 persons overturned midstream, which resulted in the death of a woman, identified as Pranila Sheshrao Rathod (55), a resident of Lonar in Buldhana district, a police official said.
The body of another unidentified female devotee was recovered shortly after, he said.
Another devotee, identified as Sindhubai Arjun Mavale (75), hailing from Mahagaon in Washim district, was rescued in an unconscious state. She was rushed to a private hospital in Majalgaon, where her condition was reported to be critical, the police said.
According to local officials, thousands of devotees gathered on Wednesday morning for a holy dip in the Godavari and to cross over to the temple on the opposite bank. Seizing upon the heavy rush, local boat operators reportedly flouted safety norms to maximise profits.
“The boat operator packed passengers like cattle, multiple times over the vessel’s actual carrying capacity. As the heavily overloaded boat reached the deep midstream of the Godavari, it lost its balance due to the uneven weight distribution and overturned, throwing men, women and children into the deep waters,” an eyewitness claimed.
Hearing the cries for help, local fishermen and youth immediately dove into the river and rescued dozens of devotees.
This is the third such incident in a month.
On Monday, a boat carrying devotees capsized in the river, but there were no casualties as alert locals managed to rescue everyone on board.
On May 19, a youth from Majalgaon drowned in the same stretch of the river after venturing into the water.
Despite two clear warning signs, authorities failed to implement basic safety protocols, such as mandatory life jackets for passengers or capping the maximum number of commuters per boat, locals claimed.
Devotees demanded stringent action against the errant boat operators and negligent officials.
The police have registered a case and initiated a probe into the incident. PTI AW COR NR GK
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