Tragedy strikes as 4 youths drown on Karthika Pournami

Kakinada/Vijayawada: Tragedy struck when four youths drowned on the auspicious occasion of Karthika Pournami on Monday even as lakhs of pilgrims thronged river ghats and beaches in the coastal districts to have the holy bath to celebrate the Karthika Somavaram. In Annavaram temple, pilgrims waited for 6-7 hours in the queue to have darshan of the Lord.
Three students -- Dara Ganga Ramana, 11, Dara Nagababu, 12, and Viswanadhuni Shiva Ganesh, 12, -- drowned in Tandava river near KO Agraharam in Kotananduru mandal in East Godavari when the trio ventured into the waters for a bath.The students, belonging to S Venkatanagaram village of Tuni rural mandal, came on their own without the parents' knowledge.
In another incident, Vallabhaneni Navin, 21, drowned near Manginapudi beach in Machilipatnam. He was a degree final year student of Loyola College in Vijayawada. His body was retrieved by local swimmers in the evening. Navin's friends made a vain bid to rescue him.
Meanwhile, the devout lined up at the river ghats in Vijayawada since early morning and the queue lines turned into a sea of humanity within a few hours. Durga Malleswara Swamy temple atop the Indrakeeladri witnessed a heavy rush as the pilgrims visited the temple immediately after the holy bath.
The beaches at Manginapudi near Machilipatnam, Suryalanka near Bapatla in Guntur and Kothapatnam near Vodarevu in Prakasam district also witnessed a heavy turnout of pilgrims.