At least 46 people, mostly children, drowned in rivers and lakes with high water levels from recent floods during the observance of a Hindu religious festival in northern India, authorities said, Reuters reports, quoted by BTA.
The dead included 37 children and seven women who drowned on Wednesday in various incidents spread across 15 districts in the eastern state of Bihar, according to a statement by the Bihar Disaster Management Department.
Some of the rivers and lakes in the region were at high levels after heavy rains, which contributed to the tragic incidents. The celebration, called Jivitputrika Vrat, is an annual festival where women fast for 24 hours and offer prayers for the well-being of their children, often bathing in rivers and lakes with them.
The state government has announced compensation of 400,000 rupees (about US$4,784) to the families of those killed.