Five youth drown in River Godavari

Rajamahendravaram : A festive bath turned into a tragedy for a group of young men from Tadipudi village in Tadipudi mandal of East Godavari district.

Eleven youth had ventured into the Godavari river near the Tadipudi sand ramp for a holy dip on the occasion of Maha Sivaratri. While they initially enjoyed swimming, disaster struck when they got trapped in the sand ramp.

Five of them were unable to free themselves and drowned, while the remaining six managed to escape with great difficulty. The survivors immediately alerted the locals, who informed the police. Rescue operations were launched swiftly to search for the missing youth.

Police launched an immediate rescue operation with the help of professional swimmers, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and fire service personnel. Three bodies have been recovered within two hours af-ter the incident took place. They were identified as P Durga Prasad (19), Tirumalashetti Pavan (17) and P Sai Krishna (19). The search continues for the remaining two missing G Akash (19) and Anisetty Pavan (19). The victims were Intermediate and degree students from Kovvur, Tallapudi and Rajamahendravaram colleg-es all hailing from the same village.

An eyewitness said that the group of 11 students, all un-der 20 years of age, had gone to the river for a dip, un-aware of its depth. While enjoying the bath, some of them started struggling in the water. In an attempt to save each other, five of them were swept away by the strong currents.

Preliminary reports suggest that the group had unknow-ingly moved away from the usual bathing area and en-tered a section of the river with deep pits, which led to the mishap. The victims belonged to economically dis-advantaged families, with their parents working hard to support their education and future dreams.

As all five missing youth were from Tadipudi village, the entire community has been left in deep grief. Authorities continue search efforts, while the bereaved families and villagers remain in shock over the tragic incident.

Tourism, Culture and Cinematography Minister Kandula Durgesh and Rajamahendravaram MP Daggubati Pu-randeswari expressed deep shock over the tragic drown-ing of five youth in River Godavari.

Minister Durgesh, along with Kovvur MLA Muppidi Ven-kateswara Rao, visited the Kovvur hospital to examine the recovered bodies and console the grieving families. He assured them that the government would provide full support during this difficult time.

Meanwhile, MP Purandeswari spoke to the District Col-lector over phone to gather details about the incident. She directed authorities to implement strict safety measures at bathing ghats and ensure that people avoid deep and dangerous areas. She also stated that she would bring the matter to the notice of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and work towards securing financial assistance for the affected families.

Authorities continue to monitor the situation closely, and efforts are underway to prevent such incidents in the future.