Nawada, October 1 (NEWS IN BIHAR) A major accident occurred on the occasion of Durga Puja on Wednesday evening in Sirdala block area of ??Nawada district. Hundreds of devotees from Murtiyan village of Bandhi Panchayat had reached Jamugay river for immersion of the urn. Before the immersion of the urn, traditional preparations were going on for the immersion of the urn when suddenly the weather turned bad. Along with loud thunder, lightning fell on the devotees standing in the middle of the river.

Within no time there was chaos in the entire area and people started running here and there screaming. According to eyewitnesses, as soon as the lightning struck, many devotees fell unconscious on the spot. After the accident, a stampede-like situation arose on the river bank. The local villagers immediately pulled the injured out of the river and somehow took them to Sirdala Primary Health Centre. The doctor present there, Dr. Umesh Kumar Sharma, declared two people dead. More than half a dozen people were seriously burnt, out of which the condition of two is said to be critical. He has been referred to Patna for better treatment. Treatment of other injured is continuing in primary health centers and private hospitals.

As soon as information about the incident was received, a crowd of family members gathered in the hospital premises. The whole atmosphere became sad due to the sounds of screaming and crying all around. Small children are also said to be injured in this accident, whose treatment is ongoing. Till the time of writing the news, the dead and injured could not be identified.

After the accident, the happiness of Durga Puja turned into mourning. The enthusiasm with which the people of Murtiya village of Bandhi Panchayat had reached the river for the immersion of the urn, the same moment became the saddest moment of their life. According to the villagers, the lightning was so strong that even people standing at a distance felt the shock.

This painful incident has created a wave of mourning in the entire area. This sudden tragedy on the holy festival of Durga Puja has shocked the people. There is a mournful silence in the puja pandals and people are consoling each other and praying for the peace of the departed souls.

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/ Sanjay Kumar Suman