The incident happened around 5:30 am on Sunday when the three brothers were trying to cross the Kumbi Khuga River to work at a field at Senggrengpat
TFM Report
A pall of gloom descended on Kumbi village in Bishnupur district as two brothers died while another survived when their canoe capsized while going out for performing agricultural activities.
The deceased have been identified as Laishram Solomon (17) and Laishram Jasua (13). Their brother Laishram David (15) survived the incident. Their parents are Laishram Chandrakumar (50) and Laishram (O) Sangita (45) from Kumbi Uyung Makhong, under Kumbi Police Station.
The incident happened around 5:30 am on Monday when the three brothers were trying to cross the Kumbi Khuga River to work at a field at Senggrengpat. The canoe they were on capsized near the bank of the river. Solomon swam and reached the bank on the other side, but Solomon and Jasua drowned unfortunately.
The locality came out and searched for the two boys. Their bodies were fished out around 7:30 am. They were immediately rushed to a Primary Health Centre nearby. But they were declared dead.
The father of the boys Laishram Chandrakumar told TFM that all of his sons go to the BK Golden Academy where Solomon is in Class X — waiting for promotion as the board exam has been cancelled — Jasua is in Class VI and David is going to be in Class X. The youngest daughter is studying Class III, Chandrakumar informed.
He further informed that the field where the three brothers went to work belongs to another owner. They were working on the field as there were no classes due to COVID-19, he added.
Chandrakumar also said that they shifted to a Presbyterian Church compound in Kumbi Uyung Makhong from Arong Khunjao Awang Leikai about 11 years ago. The family worked on whatever they could find. He also appealed for help to the concerned, stating that due to the passing away of his sons their conditions had worsened.
Meanwhile, Kumbi Urban Development Committee (KUDC) president Nongmaithem Prakash expressed shock over the incident and contended that the unfortunate incident occurred due to the bad economic condition of the family. It is unfortunate that the two boys had to be cremated on the same day, he lamented.KUDC secretary Wahengbam Rorkychand said that the family might plunge into further troubles, economically, due to the incident. As such, he appealed to the state government and concerned authorities to help the poor family.