Kukshi (Madhya Pradesh): A 45-year-old man from Bagh drowned while bathing in the Narmada River at Koteshwar Tirth in Kukshi tehsil on Saturday evening. He had gone to the ghat with friends for a holy dip but slipped into deep water and could not be saved.
The deceased was identified as Manish Anandilal Baheti, 45, who had been working for a bus operator in Bagh for the past nine to 10 years. Around 7 pm, Baheti wandered into deep water while bathing.
His friends and others at the ghat did not notice immediately and raised an alarm only when he failed to return after the bathing session ended.
Nisarpur police arrived at the scene and summoned divers. At 8.40 pm, divers recovered his body from deep water and rushed him to Nisarpur Hospital, where doctors declared him dead. A post-mortem was conducted at Kukshi Civil Hospital the following day.
Manish was the only son of his parents, who reside in Indore, and is survived by his eight-year-old son, Anay. His death has cast deep gloom over the Maheshwari community in Bagh.
Devotees said despite thousands visiting Koteshwar Tirth daily during summer, including around 15,000 on Amavasya, there are no safety arrangements at the ghat.
The administration has not deployed depth markers, warning signs or divers.
