Overview

• On July 26, final-year MBBS students Monika Meena and Sandeep Puri of VIMSAR drowned at Deojharan waterfall in Sambalpur district, Odisha, when a flash flood swept their picnic group into deep currents despite prohibitions
• On July 27, 20-year-olds Hemant Rao and Sinmuk Rao from VIT drowned at BheruKho waterfall in Sehore district, Madhya Pradesh, after swollen currents swept them away during a group picnic
• Fire service personnel, police and the State Disaster Response Force recovered all four bodies, transported them to local health centres for post-mortems and registered unnatural death cases
• District administrations in Odisha and Madhya Pradesh issued fresh appeals urging people to avoid water bodies during the rainy season and promised stricter local safety enforcement
• Safety advocates are pressing for improved signage, barriers and supervised access at waterfalls to prevent further monsoon-season drownings