Man, daughter feared drowned in Agrani river

KOLHAPUR: A 38-year-old man and his 6-year-old daughter are feared drowned in the Agrani river in the Morgaon village, in Kavatemahankal taluka of the Sangli district.
They were swept into the river in the wee hours of Sunday, said the Kavatemahankal police. The police said that Yogesh Pawar — along with his daughter Shreya and nephew — was trying to cross a bridge constructed over the Agrani river in Morgaon when the accident took place.They were riding a motorcycle and were on their way to Kavatemahankal from Deshing to visit a temple. Though Pawar’s nephew managed to swim and save himself, the father and daughter are still missing — and feared drowned.
According to the police, Yogesh and Shreya left for Kavatemahankal on their motorcycle early in the morning to attend morning prayers offered to Goddess Mahakali in Kavatemahankal. They were accompanied by Yogesh’s nephew. When they reached the Morgaon village, the water from Agrani river was flowing on the bridge. Pawar could not judge the strength of the water current and decided to ride the bike across the inundated bridge. However, they were swept away by the strong currents.
“Pawar’s nephew managed to swim and get to the river bank. He alerted the residents of Morgaon, who then launched a search operation to find Yogesh and Shreya. We are also looking for the bodies and the motorcycle,” said a police officer attached with the Kavatemahankal police station.
The Agrani river was rejuvenated under the Jalyukta Shivar Abhiyan and it had started flowing only recently after the heavy rainfall that lased the drought-prone region of Sangli district.
On Friday and Saturday, there were heavy showers in the eastern parts of Sangli causing the rivers in the region to swell. The Agrani river experienced a flood-like situation for the first time in many years. The water from Agrani, travelling through Savlaj in Tasgaon taluka and Malangaon region in Kavatemahankal taluka, was flowing in full force due to continuous rainfall in the region on Saturday.