Brahmapur,: Even after a year has passed since the tragic death of a student in Brahmapur’s drain in August 2024, the sorrow has not faded. On Wednesday, yet another heartbreaking incident occurred. A teacher drowned after being swept away by water along with his scooter during the rains.
The deceased has been identified as Mahendra Panigrahi (57), a resident of First Line in Kharavela Nagar under Nimakhandi Police Station. Mahendra had been working as a teacher at a vocational education institute in the city for several years.
As he was being swept away with his scooter in the swollen drain, some local youths on the road spotted him and rescued him. He was still alive at the time of the rescue. However, allegations have been made that he died at MKCG Medical College and Hospital due to a lack of immediate medical treatment.
The incident occurred around 5:15 p.m. on Wednesday near the Mukula drain adjacent to the MKCG medical sports ground. After rescuing him, the youths contacted the police and ambulance services for medical assistance, but no ambulance arrived. He was finally taken to MKCG Casualty in an auto-rickshaw.
Even after reaching the hospital, no treatment was administered on the ground floor, and when attempts were made to take him to the upper floor, the elevator was not working. For 15 minutes, the rescuing youths pleaded with doctors on the ground floor for help. Eventually, he was taken to the upper floor where doctors performed an ECG and declared Mahendra dead at 6:20 p.m.
His son, Siddharth Panigrahi, stated, “Around 2 PM, my father left home to go to the market. It was raining heavily from 3 PM. When he didn’t return by evening, we saw a message on social media and came to the hospital. But my father was already gone