Siblings drown in Godavari in Beed

Aurangabad: Two sisters, aged 8 and 9 years, years were washed away in the Godavari river in the Gevrai tehsil of Beed district.
The incident took place on Saturday noon at Shani Rakshas Bhuvan, when the girls had accompanied their mother to the banks of the river to wash clothes.
The deceased have been identified as Amruta and Neha. The girls had entered the water while playing and drowned.This happened before their mother could even call for help. The police said the girls’ father had committed suicide about a couple of years ago.
A team from the Chaklamba police station rushed to the spot and the bodies were fished out of water. They were rushed to a nearby hospital, but were declared “brought dead”.
Assistant inspector Bhaskar Navle said a case of accidental death has been registered and statements are being recorded to ascertain the chronology of events.
Pooja More, an activist associated with the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatna, blamed illegal sand lifting for the creation of deep pits on the river banks. “We have been asking for dedicated platforms for washing utensils and clothes, so that women and children do not have to risk their lives by stepping on slippery sections of the riverbank,” she said.
She cited that on May 9, a woman and her son had drowned at Sangam Jalgaon, and on June 2, a woman, her daughter, and a niece had drowned. She also sought action against illegal sand lifters.