As many as 20 people died and over 80 were injured in road accidents, drowning and group clashes at various places in the State on the day of Holi on Thursday.
While eight people drowned, road accidents claimed 11 lives and left more than 60 injured. Group clashes claimed one life and left 20 more people injured across the State.
A minor boy died while taking bath in a pond near Sankareswar of Puri while a man drowned in the Brahmani river near Sukal Malla Shah Ghat of Bari in Jajpur district. The third death was reported from Cuttack’s Bhadimula Ghat on the Mahanadi.
Similarly, in Bhadrak, a student of Avantika ITI, Jyotirmay Pradhan, drowned while taking a bath. A fifth case of drowning was reported from the Sambalpur Sasan canal.
The other three cases of drowning were reported in Karandia river in Patkura area in Kendrapada, Bhandaripokhari Kurigaon and Burla power channel.
Besides, more than 60 cases of road accidents related injuries and 11 deaths have been reported from various places of the State.
Six people were killed and two were serious after a Scorpio SUV overturned near Neulapur under Dharmasala of Jajpur while two others died in a bike accident on Jajpur-Panikoili road. Another two died in a bike accident in Dhenkanal and one biker death was reported from Bhubaneswar.
Further, group clashes following Holi celebrations took one more life and injured more than 20 in Bhapur in Nayagarh district.