Three persons drown in Jharkhand

Three persons including two sisters drowned in Palamau and Giridih districts on Sunday as the four-day Chhat Puja ended with lakhs of devotees offering 'Arghya' to the rising sun in Jharkhand, police said.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das and his cabinet colleagues joined the people and offered prayers at different places.

Two sisters, in their twenties, slipped into a well dug in the bed of Banka River at Koriadih village in Palamau district when they went to the river to take bath before heading for the 'Arghya' ritual, the police said.

In Giridih district, a 32-year-old man, Raj Kumar Verma, drowned in a pond while offering Arghya at Dengadih village, the police said.

Lakhs of devotees offered 'Arghya' to the setting sun on Saturday, congregated near different water bodies across the state to offer prayers to the rising sun.

The state administration had made elaborate arrangements for the devotees at different water bodies with volunteers providing materials required to perform Chhat puja.

The railways had introduced a special train on Ranchi-Jaynagar route and extra coaches were attached in some trains on different routes to meet the rush of passengers.