Ahmedabad: At least eight persons died after they drowned while bathing during Ganesh idol procession in the Meshwo river in Gujarat’s Gandhinagar district. The victims had gone for immersion of Ganesh idols on Friday evening and were all from the Vasna Sogthi village.
They drowned and died while taking a bath in the river. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also condoled the incident and shared a post on X expressing grief over the deaths.
"Deeply saddened by the news of the loss of lives in the drowning incident in Dehgam taluk of Gujarat. My condolences to all the families who have lost loved ones in this tragedy. May God grant peace to the departed souls," the PM added.
He also announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh each from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund to the next of kin of the deceased persons and a relief of Rs 50,000 to the injured.
According to PTI, a funeral procession was taken out for the eight deceased persons in Vasna Sogthi village on Saturday. Dehgam MLA Balrajsinh Chauhan, MP Hasmukh Patel, other political leaders and government officials were also present at the funeral.