Angry Villagers Block Road For Two Hours Over Delayed Rescue
Key Points:
- Savani Manjhiyan, 55, drowned in disused Tarapur stone quarry
- Villagers block Patna Chowk demanding faster search operation
- Divers search quarry’s deep waters using boats and nets
GIRIDIH – A 55-year-old woman remained untraced 48 hours after drowning in a disused stone quarry at Tarapur under Gawan police station area. Administration and rescue teams continued their efforts to locate her body, but no trace was found in the quarry’s deep water.
The prolonged search has caused mounting anger among the woman’s family members and fellow villagers. Angry villagers blocked Patna Chowk on Wednesday morning in protest against the administration’s handling of the situation.
Villagers sat on the road and demanded that the woman be pulled out of the quarry at the earliest. However, circle officer Abhishek Kumar and station in-charge Jai Prakash Kumar reached the spot with police personnel soon after being informed of the blockade.
Officials tried extensively to persuade the villagers to end the protest. The CO assured them that a rescue team would arrive at the site after noon to resume the search.
Following the assurance, villagers lifted the road blockade after nearly two hours. Meanwhile, vehicles queued up on both sides of the road during the blockade, causing considerable inconvenience to commuters.
A district-level rescue team reached the quarry around 2 p.m. The team began searching the deep water using boats. Divers combed different parts of the quarry for close to two hours, and nets were also cast at several points, though the search remained unsuccessful.
Divers continued circling the deeper sections of the quarry on boats, stirring the water in an effort to locate the woman. Circle officer Abhishek Kumar, station in-charge Jai Prakash Kumar and police personnel remained present at the site throughout the operation. A large number of local representatives and villagers also gathered at the spot, hoping for the woman’s recovery.
The woman, identified as Savani Manjhiyan, was the wife of Savna Hansda, a resident of Loriya village. She had gone out on Monday morning to sell firewood.
While returning, she reached the vicinity of the disused stone quarry at Tarapur. She was then swept into the quarry’s deep accumulated water.
Some villagers nearby attempted to save her after seeing her struggling in the water. However, she disappeared into the deep water before help could reach her.
Local residents and administration officials have been searching for her since the incident. Concern among family members has grown steadily with each passing hour, as 48 hours have elapsed without any trace of the woman.
Villagers said disused stone quarries filled with deep water frequently pose a risk of accidents in the area. They have demanded that the administration ensure safety measures at such quarries and expedite the search operation.
The rescue team’s search remained underway, with villagers awaiting word on when the woman would be recovered from the quarry’s deep water. Similar drowning incidents have previously been reported at other water bodies in the state, including cases in the Kharkai river and the Kapali Satnala Dam. Political activity has also been reported from Giridih in recent months, while a bypoll nomination was filed for the
