At least 46 people, including 37 children and seven women, drowned during a sacred ablution ritual during the Jivitputrika festival in the Indian state of Bihar, Indian media reported.
The incidents have been reported from 15 districts of the state. A local government official said:
The incidents occurred when the victims along with their family members went for sacred ablution in water bodies.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar expressed condolences over the deaths of women and children. The state government announced compensation of 400,000 rupees ($4,800) to the families of each of the deceased, the statement said.
During the Jivitputrika festival, mothers fast for the well-being and prosperity of their children and join them in performing sacred ablutions in water bodies.
Fatal crushes during religious events have occurred in India in the past, but mass drownings during festivals are rare. In July, at least 121 people were killed after severe overcrowding and a lack of exits contributed to a stampede at a religious festival in northern India.
Every year in June-September, during the monsoon season, India is hit by torrential rains and flash floods. The monsoon is vital for agriculture, and thus for the livelihoods of millions of farmers. But it also causes widespread devastation every year in the form of landslides and floods that kill hundreds of people across South Asia.
More than 200 people died in the southern Indian state of Kerala in July when heavy monsoon rains triggered landslides that buried tea plantations under tonnes of rock and soil.
Monsoon rains in India began receding from the northwest of the country earlier this week, nearly a week later than usual, India’s state meteorological department said. Experts say climate change is increasing extreme weather events around the world, and dam building, deforestation and development projects in India are adding to the human toll.
