SAMBALPUR: A final-year BTech student of Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology (VSSUT) drowned at the Fishery Point on the banks of Hirakud Reservoir while trying to save a friend on Thursday evening.
The deceased was identified as Saswati Bhoi, a resident of Bargarh and a final-year student in the department of Electrical Engineering. The drowning mishap comes close on heels of a strict advisory issued by the authorities of VSSUT banning students from visiting vulnerable water bodies around its campus.
Sources said Saswati along with six of her friends had gone to the Fishery Point on a pleasure trip. At around 5 pm, one of the girls went inside the water to take a dip and started to drown. Saswati, who knew swimming, jumped into the water to rescue her. However, she too was caught in the strong current.
On hearing their cries for help, locals rushed to the spot and managed to pull both the girls out of the water. The unconscious students were immediately taken to Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences And Research (VIMSAR), Burla where doctors declared Saswati dead. The other student was admitted to the hospital and is undergoing treatment.
Saswati’s autopsy was conducted on Friday and her body handed over to her grieving family. Following the incident, a pall of gloom descended on VSSUT campus.
Incidentally, VSSUT on March 14 had issued an advisory prohibiting students from visiting seven identified danger zones including the Fishery Point. The other restricted zones listed by the university were the Power Channel, Mahanadi river, Syphon spillway, Athra Hazar Point, Right Dyke and Jhankrani temple. The advisory was issued after a first-year Civil Engineering student Priyanshu Prakash Behera drowned at the Power Channel on March 13.
Sources said despite the ban and repeated warnings, students continue to visit these vulnerable locations risking their lives.
