E-Paper
Three Uttarakhand women washed away in swelled Kosi river, two bodies retrieved
The incident occurred in Garampani area of the district when the women were crossing the river after fetching fodder from the nearby forests.
Three women were washed away in Kosi river in Uttarakhand’s Nainital district on Sunday morning, said officials.
The incident occurred in Garampani area of the district when the women were crossing the river after fetching fodder from the nearby forests. All three women have been identified as Kamla Devi, 30; Lalita Devi, 30 and Lata Devi, 26 - all residents of Chamadia village of the district.
The water in the river has risen due to the intermittent rains in the upstream region in the past few days due to which the flow of the river has become fast.
A team of state disaster response force (SDRF) and local police rushed to spot on the information by the locals and started the search operation. So far, they have retrieved two bodies while the search for the third woman (Lata Devi) is on, the officials said.
“For reaching the forests they had to cross the Kosi river. When they were returning from the forest, the water level in the Kosi river had risen. There is no bridge in the area hence they decided to cross it anyway and got washed away,” said Richa Singh, sub-divisional magistrate (SDM), Koshya Kutoli, Nainital.
Singh said that it is likely that these women had grass on their heads and lost their balance in the strong flow of the river and got swept away.
“Some people saw them getting washed away and informed the police and officials about it. A team of the SDRF, police and other officials rushed to the spot and started the rescue and search operation. So far, bodies of two women have been retrieved,” she added.
