Four hostelite students swept away while bathing in canal near Ramtek

 

 

Four teenagers were swept away in a canal while bathing near Ramtek on Monday afternoon. They were students of Indira Gandhi Vidya Mandir and Junior College, located along the Mansar-Tumsar National Highway near Ramtek and living in the hostel of the institution. Their bodies had not been recovered till late evening. The missing students have been identified as Mandeep Avinash Patil (17), a student of Standard XI; Mayank Kunal Meshram (14), a student of Standard VIII; Anant Yogesh Sabre (13), a student of Standard VII; and Mayur Khushal Bagre (15), a student of IX, all are native of Nagpur city. According to Ramtek police, the students attended Indira Gandhi Vidya Mandir and Junior College in Ghotitok, tehsil Ramtek, and resided in the Indira Gandhi Girls and Boys Hostel operated by the institution.

 

On Monday afternoon at around 2 pm, the four students went to bathe in the Kandri branch canal, accompanied by their friends Kamlesh Deulkar, Om Karemore, Yash Harde, and Ganesh Ajankar. The canal was overflowing due to the release of water from the Pench River for crop irrigation. As they entered the water, they lost their footing and drowned. The other students who were with them ran to inform the hostel superintendent about the incident, but by the time help arrived, the strong water current had swept the four students away. Police Inspector Asaram Shete from Ramtek Police Station arrived with a team. He notified the police control room and the district administration, which dispatched the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) to the scene. The team attempted to locate the bodies, but none were found. The search operation was suspended due to darkness and is set to resume on Tuesday morning. The Water Resources Department has since halted the water inflow into the canal. The local residents alleged that there were no facilities for the students to bath properly at the hostel. If they left the hostel to go to the canal, why was the superintendent or warden of the hostel unable to intervene? If timely action had been taken to prevent the students from bathing in the canal, the tragedy might have been averted.