Body of 19-year-old Dharmanagar College student Debajyoti Ghosh recovered from Manu River after 24 hours in Kailashahar. The incident raises serious questions over disaster management efficiency, rescue delays, and river safety preparedness in Tripura.
The body of a 19-year-old college student from Dharmanagar was recovered from the Manu River on Wednesday afternoon, nearly 24 hours after he drowned while bathing at Kailashahar in Tripura’s Unakoti district. The prolonged recovery operation has once again triggered serious concerns over the preparedness and efficiency of disaster management and emergency response systems in the region.
The deceased has been identified as Debajyoti Ghosh (19), a first-semester student of Dharmanagar College. He was the only son of Jawahar Kumar Ghosh, an e-rickshaw driver, and a resident of the Shivbari area under Dharmanagar in North Tripura district. His untimely death has left the family devastated and plunged the local community into grief.
According to family members, Debajyoti had arrived at his grandfather Ajit Ghosh’s residence in the Chhantai area of Kailashahar on Monday, December 15, to attend a family function. After the event, he decided to stay back at his grandfather’s house.
On Tuesday, December 16, at around 12:30 pm, Debajyoti went to bathe in the Manu River along with several relatives. Sources said that Debajyoti did not know how to swim. During the bath, he accidentally moved into deeper water and drowned before anyone could rescue him.
The incident was immediately reported to Kailashahar Police Station, following which police personnel rushed to the spot. The Fire and Emergency Services, Civil Defence, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and Tripura State Rifles (TSR) were alerted, and a joint search operation was launched. Despite continuous rescue efforts throughout Tuesday and the entire night, the student could not be traced.
On Wednesday morning, a delegation led by noted social worker Ajay Deb met the Kailashahar Sub-Divisional Administration, demanding the immediate deployment of trained and expert divers. Following administrative intervention, seven specialised divers from the Chandipur area were brought in to assist the operation.
The renewed search resumed at around 10:00 am in the presence of Deputy Magistrate Sanjeeb Debbarma. After several hours of intensive efforts, the divers recovered Debajyoti’s body at approximately 1:00 pm from the Manu River near the Kamrangabari area of Ward No. 5 under Gournagar Gram Panchayat.
The body was later sent to Unakoti District Hospital, Kailashahar, for post-mortem examination. Officials confirmed that at the time of the incident, four youths of similar age—including two from Agartala and one local youth—had entered the river together.
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Following the recovery, a large number of locals gathered at the site, expressing sorrow and anger over the delayed rescue operation. The tragic incident has once again highlighted the urgent need for better river safety measures, trained divers, and faster emergency response mechanisms in Tripura.
