World · South & Central Asia · 12 hrs ago
At least 16 people drown in Bihar while collecting water for Dussehra rituals
At least 16 people drowned in Bihar on Sunday, the first day of the 10-day Dussehra festival.
They had gone to rivers to collect water for a ritual involving a sacred pot used in worship of the goddess Durga.
Police said recent flooding had raised river levels, and people who went into deep water drowned.
Most reported deaths were in Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga and Sitamarhi districts.
Police said the death toll could rise.
Two children also died in a separate electrocution incident while on their way to a river to collect water.
Dussehra celebrations and worship events are taking place across Bihar, with police deployed as a precaution.
At least 16 people were reported to have drowned in Bihar on October 11 while collecting river water for Dussehra rituals.
Police said recent flooding had raised river levels, and people went into deep water while fetching water for Kalash Sthapana.
Most drowning reports came from Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga and Sitamarhi districts.
Police warned that the death toll could rise.
Two children also died in a separate electrocution incident while travelling to collect water.
- Who
- At least 16 people in Bihar were reported to have drowned. Two children died in a separate electrocution incident.
- What
- People drowned while collecting river water for Kalash Sthapana rituals. Police said the death toll could rise.
- When
- The deaths occurred on Sunday, October 11, 2026, the first day of the 10-day Dussehra festival.
- Where
- Bihar, with most drowning reports from Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga and Sitamarhi districts.
- Why
- Police said recent flooding had raised river levels, and people went into deep water while fetching water for rituals.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
It was due to recent flood situation, the water–level in rivers are risen and people inadvertently gone into deep water to fetch water for holy purpose drowned to death
the death toll may go up
At least 16 people were reported to have drowned while collecting river water on the first day of Dussehra.
A senior police official told The Hindu that the death toll could rise.
- Reported drownings
- At least 16
- Date of deaths
- October 11, 2026
- Most-reported districts
- Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga and Sitamarhi
- Festival
- Dussehra, a 10-day festival
- Children killed in separate incident
- Sarvesh Kumar and Neeraj Kumar, both below 15 years of age
Sources
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