Accident during Ganesh Visarjan (img: IANS)

A man and his nephew drowned in the Aaji dam while performing the Lord Ganesh idol’s immersion in Gujarat’s Rajkot on Sept 23.

As the ten-day festival of Ganeshotsav entered its fifth day, devotees gathered for the customary rituals to worship Lord Ganesha.

The victims have been identified as Ketan Goswami (33) and Harsh Gosai (19), who were relatives.

The bodies have been transferred to the civil hospital in Rajkot, where post-mortem examinations will be conducted to determine the exact cause of death.

The tragic incident

The incident unfolded during the Ganesh Absuran ceremony at the Aaji Dam, where residents of Maninagar Society near Hudko Chokdi in Rajkot had congregated. Three individuals ventured into the dam’s waters behind the Mogal Mataji temple to perform the sacred ritual. Unfortunately, strong currents swept two of them away, leading to the heart-wrenching incident on Sept 23.

Ketan, his wife Pooja, Rajvan and his wife Sneha, their mother Pushpa and their maternal nephew Harsh went to Aji Dam for the Ganpati Visarjan.

A video capturing their final moments has surfaced, with a distant voice guiding them to immerse the idol three times before leaving it in the lake, while chanting Ganpati Bapa Morya. Responding to the incident, the local fire brigade initiated a search operation.

The Aji Dam police went to the spot after they were informed about the incident and took necessary actions. The Goswami brothers have a battery shop in Rajkot’s Kothariya road area. As per the details availed, the victim Ketan has a daughter.

The celebrations were marred by a series of drowning incidents, raising concerns about safety during immersion ceremonies as similar reports had emerged earlier from Vadodara.

(Source: IANS)

-Edited for style

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