Rayagada: The attractive tourist spot at Nagabali river near Maa Majhighariani temple in Odisha’s Rayagada has turned a death zone. As many as 27 tourists have died of drowning in the river while taking bath in the last 5 years.
The temple of Maa Majhighariani, the presiding deity, the hanging bridge and Nagabali river make up the area in Rayagada town an ideal place not only for the devotees but also the tourists. It has been a normal practice for the devotees to go to the hanging bridge and the river after visiting the Devi shrine.
Hundreds of devotees with families and friends from Rayagada and neighbouring areas besides neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Chhattisgarh come to the temple everyday. Allured by the clear and cool water of Nagabali, they also take bath there. In fact, the river is a hot spot for the tourists for its natural ambience during winter.
But the river has turned a death zone over the years due to lack of any security measures or absence of life guards. According to official figures, as many as 6 tourists died of drowning in Nagabali in 2017 when the hanging bridge was constructed to facilitate fast movement of security forces deployed for operation against Maoists in the area.
While 8 tourists drowned while bathing in the river in 2018, 6 died in 2019, 0ne in 2020, two in 2021 and two in 2022 so far. While total 27 persons drowned in the river in the last 5 years, the Fire personnel saved more than 25 tourists from drowning.
In the latest incident, three sons of A Gopalkrishna from Eluru of Andhra Pradesh were washed away in Nagabali on Thursday. While Gopalkrishna could save his two sons, the third son went missing. His body was found after being carried downstream of the river in Parvatipurma district of Andhra Pradesh on Saturday.
Despite the rising toll of tourists in the river, neither the temple authorities nor district administration has taken any step to prevent the tourists from taking bath there. Except putting up a notice board at the site warning the visitors against going inside the river, no other security set-up is in place.
According to the locals, though Nagabali looks placid on the surface, it has a strong under-current. Besides its rocky floor has many fissures and crevices which prove as death trap for the people not knowing swimming. The situation worsens in rainy season when the river has a heavy flow of water and current on the surface also. Despite the death threat lurking in the river, no preventive measures have proved fatal, they added.
They have demanded deployment of life guards on the banks of the river and a Fire Brigade station close to it. The hanging bridge, which has turned weak due to lack of maintenance, also needs to be repaired as it might collapse at any time. Considering these factors, urgent steps need to be taken to save the people from losing their lives in the river in future, they said.
