Two Indian students killed in car accident in Pennsylvania
New York (PTI): Two Indian students have been killed in an accident in Pennsylvania after their car crashed into a tree and struck a bridge, officials said.
Another passenger in the front seat of the vehicle was injured in the accident early Saturday morning and rushed to a local hospital, they said.
“Deeply saddened to learn about the unfortunate road accident in which two Indian students from Cleveland State University, Manav Patel (20) and Saurav Prabhakar (23) lost their lives,” the Consulate General of India in New York said in a post on X on Monday.
The consulate added, “Our thoughts and prayers are with their families during this difficult time. The Consulate is in touch with the families and has assured them of all possible assistance.” According to a report in Lancasteronline.com, the young students were killed Saturday in a single-vehicle crash at 7:00 am on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Brecknock Township.
According to the Lancaster County coroner’s office and Pennsylvania state police, Patel and Prabhakar died after their vehicle crashed into a tree and struck a bridge. It added that Prabhakar was driving the vehicle.
Police say both men died at the scene from multiple traumatic injuries. Both deaths were ruled accidental.
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11k litres of milk poured into Narmada river after religious event; environmentalists see red
Sehore (PTI): Around 11,000 litres of milk were poured into Narmada river, often called the lifeline of Madhya Pradesh, in Sehore district on the culmination of a 21-day religious event as part of a sanctification ritual, prompting environmentalists to flag its negative impact on the ecosystem.
The event concluded at Satdev village in Bherunda area, located about 90 km from the district headquarters, with a 'mahayagna' on Wednesday.
The milk was offered to the river as part of rituals and prayers for the purity of the waters, the well-being of pilgrims and prosperity, organisers said.
The milk was brought in tankers to the riverbank and later poured into the flowing water amid chanting of mantras in the presence of a crowd of devotees.
However, environmentalists raised concerns over the practice, warning of its potential ecological impact.
"Such large quantities of organic matter can deplete dissolved oxygen in water, adversely affecting the river ecosystem. These impact local communities dependent on the river for drinking water and threaten aquatic life as well as domestic animals," noted environmentalist and wildlife activist Ajay Dube said.
Religious offerings should be symbolic and mindful, he asserted.
Renowned environmentalist Subhash Pandey said 11,000 litres of milk acts as a significant organic pollutant.
"It is highly oxygen-demanding and can lead to oxygen depletion, aquatic mortality, eutrophication (process of plants growing on river surface) and loss of potability. These effects are predictable from dairy-effluent chemistry and have been documented in similar incidents worldwide," Pandey pointed out.
Narmada originates at Amarkantak in the state and traverses 1,312 km westward to Maharashtra and Gujarat, emptying into the Arabian Sea via the Gulf of Cambay.
It is the largest west-flowing river in the peninsula, passing through a rift valley, and acts as a crucial water source for irrigation in MP, Gujarat and Maharashtra.
