2024 Jivitputrika tragedy

The Bihar Disaster Management Authority reported on 26 September 2024 that at least 46 people had been killed after drowning or being swept away in swollen rivers and bodies of water while engaging in rituals. Of those killed, 37 were children and seven were women.^[8]

Victims were reported in the districts of Arwal, Aurangabad, Buxar, East and West Champaran, Gopalganj, Kaimur, Muzaffarpur, Nalanda, Patna, Rohtas, Samastipur, Saran, Siwan, and Vaishali. Aurangabad district reported eight deaths, the highest total as of 26 September.^[9] Seven drowned in Kaimur district, four of whom were teenagers. In Saran, Kalyanpur village reported five deaths while Chhapra reported the drownings of five children. Motihari in East Champaran reported five drownings in the Somvati River by the Kalyanpur block. Five drowned in Patna, four of whom were women, and four girls were swept away and drowned in the Sone River. A women and her child drowned together in a pond in Vrindavan.^[10]

The Bihar State Government announced that 400,000 rupees (US$4,784) would be given to the families of victims as compensation.^[8]

District Magistrate of Aurangabad Srikant Shastri stated that while Bihar state had prepared staff to manage and oversee state-designated ghats of bodies of water where Jivitputrika festivities were assigned to, he stated that drownings occurred in non-designated bodies of water by local ghats. District Magistrate of Saran Aman Samir insisted that all celebrators go to designated ghats for festivities to prevent potential drownings.^[11] An anonymous Bihar Disaster Management Authority official said that many of the participants had ignored the dangerously elevated water levels, resulting in the tragedy.^[12]

Many families of the deceased blamed disaster management organizations for not deploying crowd management staff by any of the locations where victims drowned.^[10] Rashtriya Janata Dal spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwary expressed disdain towards the state government for not arranging emergency staff and resources to all ghats where festivities were taking place instead of only deploying to state-designated locations.^[11]