KHAMMAM: As many as six people have died in the last 49 days while passing the Godavari river in Bhadrachalam. However, neither the Police Department nor the irrigation department have taken any steps to prevent the deaths. Passing through the temple town, Godavari river is used by both devotees and the local residents to take bath before visiting the temple and residents use it for domestic purposes. Most of the locals and some devotees take bath near the Ayyappa temple.
On March 19, four persons, including three women, who went to fetch water for washing clothes died and on Friday, two girls, aged 20 and 15 years, died at the same place while washing clothes.Locals say that lack of awareness about the depth of the river in the area and absence of warning boards aid to the issue. According to official records, as many as 39 persons, including tourists, have died in the last few years while taking baths and washing clothes.
A resident K Naga Raju stated that owing to illegal sand mining from Godavari, the deep patches appear, and people fall into them. D Krishna Reddy, a hotel owner, went as far as to claim that the officials are playing games with people’s lives by not putting up warning boards at dangerous places.