Jaipur, Sep 11 (IANS): Two elderly sisters from Rajasthan died while bathing in the Tapt Kund at Badrinath Dham in Uttarakhand on Friday morning. The two elderly women reportedly lost consciousness while attempting to complete a religious vow of taking 108 dips in the sacred pool.
The deceased have been identified as 71-year-old Ramu Devi, wife of Amarchand Sharma, and 73-year-old Prem Devi, wife of Madan Sharma. Both women were residents of Bhilwara district in Rajasthan.
The two sisters were part of a group of more than 100 pilgrims from Rajasthan who had been staying in Badrinath since September 4 and were also attending a religious discourse (Katha) there.
According to the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and Badrinath police, four women from the group went to the women’s section of the Tapt Kund at around 5 a.m. to bathe and complete the vow of taking 108 dips.
The other two women who were identified as Bhagwati Devi and Sohni Devi, were unharmed.
Police said Ramu Devi and Prem Devi had taken around 50 dips when their health suddenly deteriorated.
They initially took the dips slowly but reportedly began taking them more rapidly after other family members left for the temple to offer prayers.
The women ultimately became breathless and lost consciousness before collapsing into the cold water. Other pilgrims present at the site pulled them out and rushed them to hospital, where doctors declared both women dead.
Badrinath Police Station in-charge Mahadev Uniyal said the incident occurred at around 5 a.m. Following the incident, police began the required formalities.
The women’s relatives declined to have post-mortems conducted and requested that the bodies be handed over to the family.
The family said the last rites would be performed in Haridwar. The bodies will be handed over to the relatives after completion of the police formalities and as per the instructions of the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM).
