46 Drown During Hindu Festival in Eastern India

PATNA, INDIA — At least 46 people, including 37 children, drowned while celebrating the Jitiya Parv Hindu festival in Bihar, eastern India. The victims lost their lives in separate incidents across 15 districts as they participated in ritual bathing in rivers and ponds swollen by recent floods, according to a local government official from the Bihar Disaster Management Department.

The official, who spoke anonymously, said devotees ignored warnings about dangerous water levels in rivers and ponds during the festival, observed by mothers for the wellbeing of their children. Authorities are still searching for three more bodies.

Jitiya Parv is celebrated in parts of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Nepal. The Bihar state government has announced compensation for the victims’ families. Drowning incidents during religious festivals are not uncommon in India. Last year, 22 people drowned in similar circumstances during the same festival in Bihar.

India’s monsoon season, which runs from June to September, often causes floods and landslides, resulting in hundreds of deaths. Experts warn that climate change is intensifying extreme weather events, and factors like deforestation and unchecked development exacerbate the risks.