During the celebration of a Hindu festival, at least 43 people have drowned, 37 of them being minors. The custom involves bathing in the local streams and rivers. In Bihar, devotees commemorated the Jitiya Parv Hindu festival, which mothers observe for the health of their offspring, and several of them drowned in separate incidents.
“While bathing, people disregarded the dangerous water levels in ponds and rivers,” a local official told AFP.The state will provide compensation to the victims’ families.
In India, incidents resulting in deaths frequently occur at places of worship during religious festivals. The same festival claimed the lives of 22 people a year ago, including 15 children.
