Pune: Toddler Drowns Into Kolewadi Stream as Mother Gets Busy Washing Clothes

A heartbreaking incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon near the Kolewadi Mahadev Temple, where a four-year-old girl drowned in a nearby stream. The Katraj Fire Brigade recovered the body around 6 PM. The deceased has been identified as Madhuri Raghunath Ranjane (approximately 4 years old, resident of Kolewadi).
According to reports, Madhuri had accompanied her mother to the stream adjacent to the Mahadev Temple in Kolewadi.

While her mother was washing clothes, a vessel she was using floated away. As her mother attempted to retrieve it, Madhuri followed her and was tragically swept away by the current. Upon receiving the distress call, fire brigade personnel launched a search operation and retrieved the girl’s body by evening.

Madhuri, who lived in another town, had come to Kolewadi just four days prior to the incident. The tragic event has left the village in shock. Locals revealed that Madhi's parents work as laborers. The enraged villagers are  questioning the circumstances that led to Madhuri's death. Despite being in the middle of the monsoon, Kolewadi faces unsevere water shortages, compelling Madhuri's mother to wash clothes at the stream. If there had been an adequate water supply, this tragedy might have been prevented. The fact that even in the rainy season, water has to be brought in by tankers, has led villagers to demand accountability, asking, "Who is responsible for this loss?"