Ahmedabad, Aug 3 (IANS) In a tragic incident, five children, including four girls, drowned to death in a pond near Methan village in Gujarat's Surendranagar district on Wednesday. The deceased have been identified as Priyanka Parsingbhai (5), Dinki Parsingbhai (7), Alkesh Parsingbhai (10), Lakshmi Pratapbhai (9) and Sanjala Pratapbhai (7).
It has been learnt that deceased Parsingbhais were residents of Bod village in Chhota Udepur district, while Pratapbhais were residents of Gamta village in Harirajpur district of Madhya Pradesh.
According to the police, the children had gone to take bath in the pond located between Methan and Sarawan villages.
The deceased, all aged between five and 10 years, were the children of farm labourers working in the area. After the local people informed the police about the incident, the latter fished out the bodies with the help of firemen and divers. The pond was reportedly overflowing due to the heavy rains that lashed the region recently.
Noting that the world has been witnessing the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, NITI Aayog member V.K. Paul on Tuesday appealed to Indians to join hands to avoid its spread in India, warning that a "majority of cases will be reported if the next wave comes".
The Congress on Tuesday attacked the Narendra Modi government over inflation and rising fuel prices and demanded immediate relief by reducing taxes on petroleum products and import duty on various items.
The Surat unit of the Special Operation Group (SOG) and Gujarat Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) on Tuesday nabbed a person from Varachha area, alleged to be sending people abroad on fake passports and visas.
