UP: 13 women drown in well during 'Haldi' ceremony in Kushinagar; PM Modi, Yogi tweet condolences

Lucknow, Feb 17: In a tragic incident, as many as thirteen women were killed after drowning in a well, late on Wednesday, during a 'haldi' ceremony in Uttar Pradesh's Kushinagar district, police said on Thursday. The incident took place at Naurangiya Tola village when an iron net, they were sitting on, broke, they said.

The well had been closed with RCC (reinforced concrete) slab. During the ritual, a large number of women and girls stood on that slab when it suddenly broke and they fell into the well. The well is said to be very deep, and was full of water.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has expressed grief over the incident and directed officials to extend all possible help. On Wednesday night, a pre-wedding ritual of "haldi" was being performed.

Some women and girls were sitting on the iron net and it suddenly broke and fell into the well, District Magistrate S Rajalingam said. Ten people were also injured in the incident, he said.

The rescue operations were underway till past midnight with senior officers monitoring the situation on the ground. Around 22 women fell into the well. While some were rescued by villagers and the police, 13 others could not be saved in time.

ADG Gorakhpur, Commissioner Gorakhpur, DM and SP were among the top officials at the spot. They also visited the district hospital and met the relatives of the deceased.

The collector of Kushnigar and district magistrate S Rajalingam later announced an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed condolences to the families of those who killed in the incident that took place in Nebua Naurangiya police circle.

"The accident in Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh is heart-wrenching. I express my deepest condolences to the families of those who have lost their lives in this. With this, I wish the injured a speedy recovery. The local administration is involved in all possible help," he tweeted.

The villagers accused the health department of negligence, and said that many people could have been saved if treatment and ambulance had reached on time. The villagers alleged that there were neither doctors at the nearby Kotwa Community Health Centre (CHC) nor the ambulance arrived in time.

According to Amar Ujala, the deceased have been identified as Pooja Yadav (20), Shashikala (15), Aarti (13), Pooja Chaurasia (17), Jyoti Chaurasia (10), Meera (22), Mamta (35), Shakuntala (34), Pari (20), Radhika (20) and Sundari (9). Two of them are yet to be identfied.