Ganesh Chaturthi: 4 drown in Maharashtra's Palghar on first immersion night

Villagers and Mandvi police fish out Sanjay Patil’s body from the Tansa River on Wednesday night

On the first day of Ganpati idol immersion on Wednesday night, four devotees - one in Virar East and three in Wada taluka - drowned in the Palghar district. The district administration has asked citizens to be careful during idol immersion in water bodies. Chaos erupted at two locations in Wada taluka as people were swept away by the water. The Wada police conducted rescue operations.

Chaos in Wada

In one incident, Prakash Thackeray, 45, entered a lake in Gorhe village to immerse an idol while inebriated. Police Inspector Suresh Kadam of Wada police said, "Though Thackeray knew how to swim, he was inebriated and could not correctly gauge the danger. He drowned on Wednesday night. His body was recovered on Thursday morning. He was a farmer residing in Wada taluka."

The Palghar district administration has put up banners warning citizens against entering deep waterbodies in Wada taluka. Pics/Hanif Patel

"The other incident involved Jagat Maurya, 38, and Suraj Prajapati, 25, hailing from Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh. They worked in a private company in Wada taluka. They did not know how to swim and after entering the canal in Kansai village where immersion was taking place, they were swept away. Their relatives kept asking them to not venture deep into the water but they did not listen," Kadam said.

The bodies of all three were handed over to the families after a post-mortem. The Palghar district administration is taking action to sensitise citizens. With the help of gram panchayat, the Palghar police have appealed to citizens to take extra care during Ganpati idol immersions. People have also been asked to not drink and enter the water. Kadam said, "We have also installed banners at different locations in our jurisdiction to sensitise people."

Strong undercurrent in Tansa

Meanwhile, in Virar East, 45-year-old Sanjay Patil drowned on Wednesday night during immersion with his friends and relatives. Police Inspector Praful Wagh of Mandvi police said that Patil lost his balance at Ganesh ghat on the Parol-Shiravali bridge along the Tansa River as the undercurrent in the river was very strong.

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"After Patil was swept away in the strong undercurrent, villagers started a search operation and Mandvi police reached the spot. The Fire Brigade was also called in. A large number of villagers were present during the search operation on the banks of the Tansa River. The search operation was hampered due to darkness on the riverbed," said a resident.

Sanjay Patil drowned in the Tansa River in Virar East

Wagh added, "We called some good, young swimmers who jumped into the river and looked for Patil. We managed to fish out Patil's body around 1 am on Thursday." Patil, who worked as a mandap decorator, is survived by his wife and three children.