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Dozens of Hindu pilgrims feared
Dozens of Hindu pilgrims feared drowned in India
(Adds 1994 accident, overcrowding problem)
NEW DELHI, Jan 15 (Reuter) - Dozens of Hindu pilgrims were feared drowned
on Sunday when a boat capsized in the mouth of the Ganges river in eastern
India, United News of India (UNI) reported.
The boat was carrying about 100 passengers who had come to Sagar Island
to bathe in the holy river in a ritual which Hindus believe washes away their
sins, the news agency said. Officials told UNI about 33 pilgrims had been
rescued.
UNI said naval divers who had been camping nearby at Diamond Harbour had
rushed to the spot, south of Calcutta.
Exactly a year earlier, more than 60 people drowned when two pilgrim
boats collided in the Bay of Bengal and one was ripped in half.
A 40-day festival during which tens of millions of Hindus will take
sacred baths in the Ganges began on Saturday. Sunday was considered an
especially auspicious days for such a bath.
Overcrowding is a perennial problem during the religious festival when
there is a huge demand for places on boats which shuttle pilgrims to bathing
spots.
Over the weekend, more than half a million faithful bathed near the
northern city of Allahabad at the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and
Saraswati rivers.
REUTER
Transmitted: 95-01-15 09:39:35 EST
