At least twelve people lost their lives in Odisha on Wednesday after drowning in various water bodies across the state, police officials confirmed. The majority of the tragedies occurred during Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations when devotees immerse clay idols of Lord Ganesha in rivers and water bodies. Six of the deceased were children.
The incidents were reported from six different districts — Jagatsinghpur, Sundargarh, Ganjam, Bhadrak, and Koraput. Emergency rescue teams, including fire service personnel and local volunteers, scrambled to retrieve bodies from fast-flowing waters, but many could not be saved in time.
In Jagatsinghpur district, four young men in their early twenties were swept away by strong river currents while participating in an idol immersion procession. Fire service personnel later recovered all four bodies. The deceased have been identified as Manojit Swayain, Swapnajit Barik, Rashmiranjan Nayak, and Jagnnath Palei. Locals said the group had entered the water despite warning signs, and the sudden surge of water caught them off guard.
Other districts also witnessed separate drowning episodes. In Sundargarh and Koraput, located in the hilly central and southern parts of the state, heavy rainfall and elevated water levels in local rivers contributed to several fatal accidents. Ganjam and Bhadrak districts, situated near the coast, saw similar incidents as large crowds gathered for evening immersion rituals along riverbanks and tidal areas.
District administrations have urged residents to avoid entering deep or fast-moving waters during festival celebrations. Authorities also reminded devotees to use designated immersion points and follow safety guidelines issued by the disaster management department. Traffic and crowd control arrangements were deployed in several areas, but the sheer volume of participants overwhelmed coordination efforts in some locations.
This year's Ganesh Chaturthi saw particularly high turnout across Odisha, with communities organizing elaborate processions. Officials noted that several drownings could have been prevented had stricter enforcement of immersion zone regulations been in place.
