Bodies of 2 recovered from Ratlam Dam:Students had left school early for maggi party before final exams

The bodies of both students who drowned in Jay Shriram Dam in Palsodi village on Bajna Road, Ratlam have been found. First, the body of student Dhruv (14) was found. About 1 hour later, the SDERF team also found the body of the second student Jay aka Ashutosh (14). Both students were from different areas of Ratlam city and had reached the dam for a picnic with friends. On Monday, 8 students of class 9th left home saying they were going to a party, but they did not tell where they were going. All students are studying in class 9th at Samata Shiksha Niketan, Sagod Road, Ratlam. The six students who went along are shocked since the accident and are not in a condition to properly talk to anyone. Family members are also unable to question much. Information about drowning was received in the afternoon Dhruv’s grandfather Mahesh Kumar Balsore said that he and his son Amrit were at the motor binding shop near the pond. When they reached home around 2:15 PM, they learned that their grandson had gone to a party with friends. Shortly after, Laxhyaraj Rathore’s mother called Dhruv’s mother’s mobile and informed that the children had drowned in the dam. After this, the family members reached Shubham Patidar’s house, where they learned that he had also gone along. Everyone directly reached the incident site, where villagers had gathered in crowds. There were no security arrangements or rescue equipment present at the dam. Lakshyaraj narrated the whole incident while crying Upon reaching home, Lakshyaraj Rathore tearfully explained that the children who knew how to swim had entered the water. According to Dhruv’s mother Deepika, her son had mentioned going to Jaman Patli picnic spot. Lakshyaraj said that when Raghav and Arpit slipped, he managed to save them, but Dhruv and Ashutosh went into deep water. Lakshyaraj’s father had passed away two and a half years ago due to a poisonous creature’s bite. His mother said that her son had only mentioned going to a party, not the location. He returned home around 3:30 PM and informed about the incident. Half-burnt stove and Maggi found at the incident site A stove made of stones was found on the dam’s edge. There was Maggi noodles cooked in it. A breakfast plate, onions and a salt packet were also found nearby. However, it wasn’t clear which vessel was used to cook the Maggi since no utensil was found at the spot. Piles of wood were kept around. Search conducted using ropes and iron hooks The rescue operation was resumed on Tuesday morning. The water was searched using ropes and iron hooks. During this, Dhruv’s body was recovered. As soon as the body was found, there was crying and wailing among the family members present at the spot. Police completed the panchnama and sent the body for post-mortem. After this, the body of the other student Ashutosh was also found. Dispute among family members, police handled the situation As soon as information about the incident was received, family members of all students reached the dam. During this time, there was also a dispute between family members about taking each other along. Seeing the situation deteriorate, the DD Nagar police station in-charge took those involved in the dispute to the police station and calmed the matter. Disaster Management Claims Exposed During the incident, the SDERF team could not reach the spot. Four to five Home Guard personnel arrived, but they also did not have adequate resources. Family members themselves kept searching by dropping ropes and hooks while sitting in a boat that was already present in the dam. Police personnel kept patrolling the shore. The fire lorry applied pressure to the dam three to four times to help bring water up and aid in the search, but was unsuccessful. SDM Archie Harit and other officials also arrived, but local people allege that no concrete decisions were taken. It should be noted that this is the second drowning incident in Ratlam district within 24 hours. Earlier, a young man went missing when a boat capsized in the Maleni river, where an SDERF team was deployed. People are angry about the delay in calling the team to Jai Shree Ram Dam. Questions raised on security arrangements Dam caretaker Kailash Ninama said that this is under the Water Resources Department. Young men and women come here daily for parties. They don’t listen even when told not to. People stay here until 8 PM. Villager Gopal Gurjar says that there are no warning boards or safety equipment at the dam. 6-7 deaths have occurred before, but the administration has not taken any concrete steps. This is a tribal area where children often come to bathe and there is no one to stop them.