Omkareshwar’s Narmada Ghats turn deadly, 24 people die this year:Despite measuring depth, thousand-foot rope falls short; river full of rocks and trenches

Taking a bath in the Narmada river at the pilgrimage city of Omkareshwar is a symbol of faith, but it is also proving to be deadly. This year so far 24 and in the last four years 62 devotees have lost their lives. Most victims are from Indore, Maharashtra and Gujarat, who are unaware of the river’s depth. The ghats of Omkareshwar are unsafe, have no railings and are crowded with boats. Due to the dam, water levels keep fluctuating, which leads to algae formation and increases the danger. The situation becomes even more serious due to lack of divers and difficulties in rescue operations. Regarding the continuous accidents at Narmada ghats, the Dainik Bhaskar team reached the ground. Where they spoke with boatmen, security personnel, devotees and administrative officials. Read the full report…. Narmada Ghat unsafe, no railing here
There are about a dozen ghats located along the Narmada River in Omkareshwar, which include Abhay Ghat, Navin Ghat, Nagar Ghat, Gomukh Ghat, Kotitirth Ghat, Brahmapuri Ghat, Kevalram Ghat, Omkar Math Ghat, Bichhalia Ghat, Chakratirth Ghat, Barfani Ghat and Sangam Ghat built at the confluence of Narmada-Kaveri. Some of these ghats are located near the Omkareshwar Jyotirlinga Temple and are ancient, while some ghats were built later. However, all these ghats are unsafe for bathing. None of the ghats have railings and no other resources are available for safety. Some time ago, the administration had released tubes in the water, but it did not have any significant effect. Ghats surrounded by boats, no space for bathing
Boats at the ghats are also a major cause of accidents. Except for two-three ghats, most ghats are crowded with boats. The administration has not designated any single location for boat stands. Here every ghat is surrounded by boats. This causes difficulty for devotees during bathing. Wherever one finds a place to bathe, they bathe there according to their convenience. The special thing is that there are more illegal boats than licensed ones in the pilgrimage town. There are also some government boats for security, which are in different numbers with the municipal council and Omkareshwar Temple Trust. Their boatmen are given honorarium by the council and trust. During accidents, these boats remain stationary and their boatmen remain busy in other businesses. Now read the arguments of local and administrative people… Maintain normal water level from dam, or build upper dam
A dam was constructed on the Narmada River between 2001 and 2007 under the Omkareshwar project. According to Arun Verma, secretary of the Sailors’ Association, drowning incidents have increased since the construction of this dam. The main reason is that the water level from Omkareshwar Dam does not remain normal. Due to constant fluctuations in water level, moss accumulates, which pilgrims don’t notice and become victims of accidents. Arun Verma said that most ghats do not have divers deployed. The Sailors’ Association has repeatedly demanded deployment of divers by submitting applications and memorandums to the administration. Many times, the sailors themselves have saved drowning people. Two suggestions have been given to prevent these incidents: first, construction of an upper dam to maintain normal water levels, and second, controlling water levels from the Omkareshwar dam. These measures can prevent sudden changes in water levels, which will reduce the algae problem and ensure the safety of pilgrims. Narmada’s water level depends on Omkareshwar dam
Police Station Mandhata’s TI Anok Sindhia said that drowning incidents at the ghats are tragic. The family whose member drowns faces a lot of distress. Because the body is only recovered from the water after 24 to 36 hours. Most incidents happen when water is held back from the dam. When turbines shut down, the water level decreases. There is no water where the bathing area is. In such cases, travelers move forward. Bathers spread out sparsely along the ghats. Due to this, information about drowning incidents is not received for hours. When depth was measured, thousand feet rope fell short
According to Home Guard District Commandant Ashish Kushwaha, the biggest reason behind drowning incidents in Omkareshwar is the water level of Narmada, which depends on the dam. Devotees look for water to bathe, they go and bathe where there are rocks. But no one knows the depth of Narmada. This is why even the best divers do not want to take the risk of going into the water for rescue. Once a policeman from Gujarat had drowned, who was searched for, but was not found for two days. Then we took the help of scuba diving to measure the depth of Narmada. But those people also could not go deeper than 100 feet. Then we tied a stone to a thousand-foot rope and submerged it, that rope kept sinking straight down, the entire rope sank, but we could not estimate the depth. It is said that there was a Home Guard diver who had saved the lives of more than 200 people. He had recovered just as many bodies. But when he himself went down for rescue one time and drowned, even his body could not be found. Currently operate boats, perform rescue using manjari
According to Home Guard Platoon Commander Ravindra Mahiwal, Home Guard personnel are deployed at the ghats of Omkareshwar. Meanwhile, if someone drowns, they disappear within minutes. Divers search by operating boats in the water, but no clues are found. Then they try using manjari (indigenous device to pull drowning persons). If the drowning person stays on the upper rocks, they get caught in the manjari’s grip, but those who go deep come up automatically after three-four days when the body swells. In most cases, it has been observed that wherever a person drowns, their body is found at the same location.