Day after eight persons from Gujarat's Vasna Sogthi village drowned while bathing in the Meshwo River during the immersion of Ganesha idols, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Saturday (September 14), announced an ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh for the next of kin of each deceased. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), the Prime Minister's office announced the decision to allocate Rs 2 lakh from the PMNRF for the next of kin of each deceased, while Rs 50,000 would be given to those injured in the incident.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from PMNRF for the next of kin of each deceased in the drowning incident in Dehgam, Gujarat," the Prime Minister's office said in a statement.
"The injured will be given Rs 50,000," it added.
PM Modi condoles demise of deceased
It is pertinent to note that today’s announcement by the PM’s office follows an earlier statement on Friday (September 13) in which PM Modi condoled the death of the eight victims.
He said, "Deeply saddened by the news of the loss of life in the drowning incident in Dehgam taluka of Gujarat. My condolences to all the families who have lost their loved ones in the tragedy."
"May God grant peace to the departed souls," he added.
About the Incident
Gujarat's Sub Divisional Magistrate BB Modiya (who supervised the search and rescue operation for the deceased) elaborated on the tragic incident that had claimed eight lives due to drowning.
He said, they were first alerted of the incident after a group of villagers came to the waterbody to immerse Ganesh idols and had learnt about the drowning.
"After getting a message, police and fire brigade personnel rushed to the site. We recovered eight bodies from the river. One person who was assumed to be missing was later found moving about in the village. So the rescue operation, which continued till late evening, was called off," he said.
“The deceased were locals who had come to bathe in the river. They may have misjudged the river's depth since its water level has risen recently due to an under-construction check dam a little distance away,” he added.
READ MORE | Eight people drown in Meshwo river in Gujarat's Gandhinagar, search for others underway
