PONDA
In a tragic incident, a 9-year-old girl and her 4-year-old brother drowned in a pond at Karmale in Keri-Ponda.
According to reports, the parents are employed and the two kids, Navya Naik (9) and Harsh (4) would travel daily to their grandmother's house in the locality.
When the father came home for lunch at noon, the children were not at home and he made enquiries at his brother's place.
The family began a search for the two children and they were found in the nearby pond. The two children were rushed to the Ponda hospital, where they were declared dead on arrival.
Incidentally, the pond had been constructed by the Naik family a few years ago for irrigation to the agriculture field.
The final rites of the two bodies were performed in the local crematorium.
On receiving news of the incident, Minister Govind Gawde visited the Naik family and offered his condolences.
Neighbours said Navya was studying in Std 2 at a nearby government primary school and both parents are government employees.
A police team led by DySP C L Patil and Police Inspector Vijaykumar Chodankar visited the site to take stock of the incident.
