Four minors drown in Cuttack’s Mahanadi river, bodies recovered

The boys aged between 13 and 14 years and residents of Potapokhari in Nayabazar area of Cuttack had gone to the river at Bhadimula Ghat for swimming after returning from school, police officials said.

Published on: Nov 26, 2021, 15:43:43 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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The death toll in the Mahanadi River tragedy climbed to four on Friday with rescue teams from the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force and state fire department fishing out the bodies of three more minors who had gone missing in the river while bathing there on Thursday afternoon.

The body of Khetrabasi Behera was recovered on Thursday evening while the bodies of Akash Bahalia, Subham Sethy and Chandan Behera were recovered on Friday morning, according to the local police. (GETTY IMAGES.)

The boys aged between 13 and 14 years and residents of Potapokhari in Nayabazar area of Cuttack had gone to the river at Bhadimula Ghat for swimming after returning from school, police officials said.

“He came back home at 1 pm and went to his friend’s house after lunch. When he did not come home till 5 pm, we started looking for him,” said Kalyani Sethy, mother of Subham Sethy, who is among the deceased.

Cuttack deputy commissioner of police Prateek Singh said on Thursday evening, the body of Khetrabasi Behera was recovered while the bodies of Akash Bahalia, Subham Sethy and Chandan Behera were recovered on Friday morning.

“Since the four students did not return home after a couple of hours, their family members launched a frantic search to trace their whereabouts. Later, they found four bicycles near the ghat in the evening and informed us,” said the DCP.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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