Bhubaneswar, March 29 (Odisha.in) People across Odisha on Thursday celebrated the festival of colour ‘Holi’ with religious fervor, but the occasion also marked by tragedies as at least 14 people mostly young men lost their lives from drowning.
While highest ten deaths were reported in and around state capital Bhubaneswar, two persons died in the district of Kendrapara while one each drowned in the district of Nayagarh, and Ganjam, a senior state police officer said.
In Bhubaneswar some youths had gone to take bath in the river Bhargabi near Balakati area after celebrating the festival of colour on Thursday.
While three persons were found dead same day, two more dead bodies were retrieved by police and fire fighters a day later, deputy commissioner of police Nitinjit Singh told Odisha.in.
The youth aged 18-20 were heavily drunk and paid little heed to the warning issued by the police and took bath in the accident prone area of the river, he pointed out.
Similarly five more drowning deaths have been reported one each from the Mancheswar, Nayapalli, Cuttack road, Station Bazar and Tankapani road area of the capital city.
Odisha.in