Boy from Mumbai’s Ghatkopar drowns in Godavari during visit to Nashik temple

An 11-year-old boy died after drowning in the Godavari River near Gandhi Talav in the Nashik’s Panchavati area on Saturday, September 5, morning.

The deceased, Gopal Umesh Gupta, was travelling with a 40-member group from Uttar Pradesh currently settled in Ghatkopar, Mumbai. The group had arrived in Panchavati earlier that morning as part of a temple visit to the pilgrim town.

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The tragedy unfolded when four boys from the group stepped into the river even as the women in their party moved aside to change clothes. Some local youths, who regularly dive into the Godavari to retrieve coins dropped by devotees, noticed the boys struggling against the current and raised an alarm.

Along with lifeguards stationed in the area, the youths managed to pull three of the four boys out of the water safely. It was only a short while later that the group realised Gopal was missing. A fresh search was launched, and local divers eventually located him in the river. He was rushed to the district civil hospital, where doctors declared him dead on arrival.

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Panchavati police have registered a case of accidental death and have begun an investigation into the circumstances leading up to the drowning.

The incident has once again turned attention to the safety hazards along the Godavari’s ghats, particularly at points like Gandhi Talav that see a steady stream of visitors and pilgrims through the day. Officials have not indicated whether there were any warning signs or barricades near the spot where the boys entered the water, nor whether additional safety personnel will now be deployed at the location.

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For families travelling from out of state for religious visits, unfamiliar terrain and unpredictable river depths remain a recurring risk — a pattern seen in several similar drowning cases reported from the region in recent years. Authorities are yet to comment on whether preventive measures, such as clearer signage or restricted entry points along the riverbank, will be considered following Saturday’s incident.

The other three boys who were pulled out have not been reported injured.