BHOPAL: Multiple rescue teams are searching in moonlight (with the help of big torch-lights and tractors’ lights) for seven devotees, including four children, who have been missing in the deep waters of the Matatila Dam on Madhya Pradesh-Uttar Pradesh, after a boat capsized on Tuesday evening.
The incident happened around 8 pm when 15 devotees from the Lodhi caste in Rajawan village, under the Khaniyadhana area of MP’s Shivpuri district, embarked on a small boat. They were traveling to the Siddh Baba temple on an island in the deep waters of the Matatila Dam, built on the Betwa River.
“The boat had travelled just a short distance when it capsized in the deep waters. While eight of those onboard either swam to safety or were rescued by fishermen, seven others went missing. All seven of them continue to be untraceable,” deputy inspector general (DIG-Gwalior Range) Amit Sanghi told TNIE.
Sanghi and other senior MP police officials of the region are camping at the spot to supervise the search and rescue operations by multiple teams, including the state Disaster Emergency Response Force (SDERF) team.
The seven devotees who have been lost in the dam’s waters, included three women – Sharda Lodhi (55), Lila Lodhi (40), Ram Devi Lodhi (35) - and four children - Kumkum Lodhi (15), Cheena Lodhi (14), Kanha Lodhi (7) and Shiva Lodhi (8). All the missing as well as the rescued devotees belonged to an extended Lodhi caste family of Rajawan village of MP’s Shivpuri district.
“Right now, our priority is to search for the seven missing devotees and rescue them. After that, we will inquire into the reasons for the mishap. Preliminary findings suggest that the small boat was not just overcrowded, but also had some hole, which caused water to fill and the boat to overturn,” a senior MP police official present at the spot added.
Devotees in some parts of Shivpuri district in MP’s Gwalior-Chambal region, have long been following the tradition of going to the Siddh Baba Temple on an island in the Dam, on the eve of the festival of Rang Panchami, which will be celebrated on Wednesday.