Teenager who returned from jaws of death recounts horror

Sawangi (Hingna): The Gharats of Indira Nagar of Sawangi village in Hingna taluka may be counting blessings of their family deity Goddess Chandika for the return of their daughter, the 18-year-old Pragati, from almost certain death on Sunday. The teenager seems to be silently appreciating her luck for having been gifted a second life in an episode where six of her companions met their watery graves in a weir.
Pragati, a student of ITI at Wanadongri, had death staring at her when the teenager’s feet got stuck deep in the muck under water of the weir where a bunch of young girls, an elderly woman and a few children had gone to perform Gauri pujan on the occasion of Hartalika. But fate was kinder for her as she could free one of her feet and scramble back to safety. Pragati was also the first to rush to rescue when Jhanvi Chaudhari, 13, slipped into deeper zone in the weir. “We had been visiting the weir during Hartalika for several years. The only difference this year was the depression created in the weir by the contractor for which we lost half a dozen of our friends and neighbours,” said Pragati.
Apart from Jhanvi, the others drowned in the weir have been identified as Poonam Dadmal, Pooja Dadmal, Pranita Chamlata, Priya Raut and Manda Nagose. Jhanvi’s brother Pankaj, Poonam’s sister Prateeksha and Pragati returned home safely. Jhanvi and younger brother Pankaj were playing by splashing water on each other in the weir where the village’s women generally visit. The siblings had least expected the lurking danger in the weir in the form of an unnoticed depression created for increased storage of water, inside which the sister slipped.
After Pragati failed to rescue Jhanvi, Priya rushed to save her. Priya’s predicament prompted Pranita to join the botched up rescue. As Jhanvi, Priya and Pranita were struggling in the water, Poonam too went in followed by Pooja. As the teenagers were going down one by one, 50-year-old Manda tried to save them.
Pragati said she tried to hold her hand out towards Jhanvi to pull her out but got herself into the muck trap under water. “Suddenly, I was under water too with my legs stuck. I went completely blank,” she said. “I could see nothing under water and was able to gauge even less what was happening around,” she said.
Pragati further said Jhanvi was no more in sight but she herself seemed lost too. “There was hope in my heart when I could move one of my legs but really don’t know how I made it when others failed. I tried to reach out for something and could feel something within my reach. I grabbed it and dragged myself out of the water when Jhanvi’s brother Pankaj pulled me out,” she said.
Coming back from near death and gasping for breath, Pragati tried to get help by rushing to a nearby field. She tried to resuscitate Jhanvi after latter’s body was fished out but it was too late and Pragati was dragged back home by villagers.