4 days ago
Madhya Pradesh: Two girls drown in waterlogged ditch on farm in Satna; bodies recovered after 8-hour operation
Two girls, aged 16 and 12, died after falling into a waterlogged ditch on a farm
BHOPAL: Two girls died after falling into a waterlogged ditch on a farm in Madhya Pradesh's Satna district. Their bodies were recovered after a rescue operation that lasted nearly eight hours and continued into the early hours of Monday.
The incident occurred around 3 pm on Sunday in Rerua Kalan village, under the Nagaud police station limits.
The deceased were identified as Somwati (16), whose body was recovered around 5 pm on Sunday, and Durga (12), whose body was retrieved by SDRF teams at around 1.50 am on Monday.
"Locals suspect that a closed and abandoned borewell may have reopened due to waterlogging, but the younger girl's body was found at a depth of only 5–6 feet," said Nagaud SDM Jitendra Verma.
"The situation will become clearer now that the water has been drained from the farm. There is definitely a ditch about 5–6 feet wide at the site."
Verma added that the location was extremely difficult to access.
"It took nearly two hours by tractor to reach the spot. The entire area was waterlogged, so we couldn't confirm the presence of a borewell initially. Only after draining the water could the rescue team retrieve the second body," he said.
Immediate relief of Rs 5,000 was given to each of the deceased's families.
Officials added that the process for providing Rs 4 lakh ex-gratia per death, as per the norms under the Revenue Book Circular, has also been initiated.
