Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh each to the family members of the two minor students who drowned in the Kuakhai River on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar on Wednesday.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Wednesday expressed grief over the death of the students in Kuakhai River and said the government will provide ex-gratia assistance to the bereaved families.
“Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has expressed deep sorrow over the tragic drowning of two students during Saraswati idol immersion in Kuakhai River, near Rangabazar, under Balianta block. He extended condolences to the bereaved families. Rs 4 lakh ex-gratia assistance for each family from the State Disaster Response Fund has been announced,” said the Chief Minister’s Office on X.
The deceased were identified as Dibyajyoti Mahalik and Sikun Senapati from Unit-6 area in Bhubaneswar.
According to sources, Sikun and Dibyajayoti went to Rangabazar area along with their tuition teacher and other students for the idol immersion. They then carried the idol to the river waters while others were at the bank, but fell into deep waters and were swept away by strong currents while taking a dip.
The tuition teacher immediately rang up police and Fire Service personnel for help. Later, bodies of the two students were fished out of the river and sent to Capital Hospital for postmortem.
Police have launched an investigation and are questioning the tuition teacher and other students, who were present at the accident spot.
Sources further said that they decided to carry out the immersion ceremony in the Kuakhai, owing to the lack of water in the temporary pond designated by the authorities.
