Ranchi, July 29
Eighteen Kanwariyas lost their lives and ten others were injured in a devastating road accident near Jamuniya village in Jharkhand's Deoghar district on Tuesday.
The incident occurred during the ongoing Shravani Mela, a time when thousands of devotees travel to offer sacred water at the Baba Baidyanath Dham temple.
Confirming the tragedy, Deoghar MP Nishikant Dubey said in a post on X, "In my Lok Sabha constituency of Deoghar, during the Kanwar Yatra in the month of Shravan, 18 devotees lost their lives due to a bus and truck accident. May Baba Baidyanath Ji grant strength to their families to bear this grief."
The accident site, located in Mohanpur block of Deoghar, lies along the banks of the north-flowing Jamuniya River, near a renowned Shiva-Parvati temple.
The collision occurred when a bus carrying about 35 devotees en route to Deoghar for offering 'jal' (holy water) at Baba Baidyanath Dham was struck head-on by a truck transporting gas cylinders.
Eyewitnesses described the scene as horrifying. The impact was so intense that the bus was reportedly torn apart, with screams echoing in the aftermath.