Chhattisgarh: 6 swept away in Indravati river, bodies of mom-newborn fished out, 2 still missing

RAIPUR: Six persons were swept away in the Indravati river in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district in Bastar region after a boat capsized in strong currents, leaving mother-newborn dead, while the woman's husband and son were still missing and two others rescued on Thursday. Officials said the baby was found tied to the mother with a towel, indicating the mother’s attempt to protect the child as the boat went down. The incident took place around 5 pm on Wednesday at Uspari Jhilli ghat in Bhairamgarh region, when the group—residents of Bodga village located across the Indravati—was returning home from a weekly market. The boat they were travelling in reportedly lost balance midstream and overturned, throwing all six into the fast-flowing river.During the search operation, rescue teams recovered the bodies of a woman and her infant child nearly 18 hours later.The search for the remaining two persons, including an adult male and a child, is still underway.According to officials, two members of the group were rescued alive with the help of villagers and later returned to Bodga. Health department teams have been kept on alert as a precaution.The rescue operation was delayed as the Indravati river stretch lies nearly 80 km from the district headquarters, while during the night time, no search could be conducted on Wednesday evening, and the operation resumed on Thursday morning.Revenue, police and health department teams were deployed at the ghat.The tragedy highlights the risks faced by residents of riverine villages in Bijapur as for dozens of villages across the Indravati river, boats remain the only means of transport to access markets and essential supplies, and boat capsizes are reported almost every year at several ghats along the river, raising concerns over the lack of safer crossings and rescue infrastructure.