Telangana to probe drowning of 6 students during Ganesh immersion

Hyderabad: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Thursday, September 17, directed the district administration to extend all possible support to the families of six students who drowned during a Ganesh idol immersion in Sangareddy district, and ordered a thorough inquiry into the circumstances of the tragedy.

In a statement, the Chief Minister said he was deeply saddened by the deaths of the students from the Shireesha Charitable Trust, who drowned at Neredu Cheruvu in Peddakanjerla village, Patancheru, while immersing the idol. He said the students had gathered in a spirit of devotion and celebration, and that the occasion had turned into one of profound grief for their families. He directed officials to ensure the incident is thoroughly investigated so that such tragedies can be prevented in future immersions.

Health Minister Damodar Rajanarsimha spoke with the Sangareddy district Collector and took stock of the situation soon after the incident.

Minister for Women and Child Welfare Seethakka also expressed shock, saying the loss of six young lives during the festive season was deeply anguishing. She spoke with the district Collector, seeking details on the circumstances that led to the accident, the relief operations undertaken, and the support being extended to the affected families. She also spoke with the department’s Secretary, Shruti Ojha, to follow up on the matter.

The six students, Siddharth (Class 10), Narasimha Raju (second-year BTech), Sumanth Reddy and Ganesh (both second-year polytechnic), Uday Kiran (third-year polytechnic) and Shyam Kumar (first-year polytechnic), had gone to the lake on Wednesday evening as part of the trust’s three-day Ganesh festivities.

Some of them got into difficulty in the water; in an apparent attempt to rescue one another, all six drowned. Locals pulled them out and rushed them to a hospital in Patancheru, where doctors declared them dead on arrival.

Police are investigating and said deep pits in the lake bed may have contributed to the incident.