Both the Centre and the Odisha government moved quickly on Saturday to stand with families shattered by a temple-town tragedy in Madhya Pradesh.
After eight people — seven of them from one Bhubaneswar family — died when their car was swept into a rain-swollen drain near the Maa Baglamukhi Temple in Nalkheda, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi separately announced ex-gratia assistance.
The Prime Minister called the Agar Malwa mishap “extremely painful” and announced ₹2 lakh from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund for the next of kin of each deceased. Those injured, he said, would receive ₹50,000.
Hours later, after landing at Bhubaneswar airport from Semicon 2026 in Delhi, Chief Minister Majhi expressed deep grief before the media and announced a further ₹5 lakh as compassionate assistance for the next of kin of each deceased. He said Odisha officials were already in touch with the Madhya Pradesh administration and that all arrangements had been made to bring the mortal remains home with dignity.
Together, the two announcements put immediate financial support and inter-state coordination at the centre of the official response.
Police said the accident took place in the early hours after a heavy overnight downpour. The family had offered prayers at the Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain and hired a taxi for Nalkheda. Near a culvert barely 50 metres from the Baglamukhi shrine, the drain beneath the road was overflowing. The driver tried to cross. The current pulled the vehicle away. All eight occupants were later found dead.
Seven of the dead belonged to a family from Jayadev Vihar that ran a roadside eatery at the busy square. Officials in Bhubaneswar identified them as Sibaprasad Behera (43), Rojalin Behera (34), Ritarani Behera (36), Gyanendra Behera (40), Sai Swarna Prava Behera (6), Krishna Rajbir (13) and Sai Swastik Behera (10). The eighth victim was the local driver. Three children and two women were among the dead. Relatives said the family had planned the pilgrimage before an engagement in the household.
Majhi said the state government would not leave the families alone in this hour of grief. Officials have been told to complete formalities without delay so that the last rites can be performed in Odisha.
For a family that left home seeking blessings, Saturday brought only loss. The messages from the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister now form the first official assurance that both New Delhi and Bhubaneswar are with those left behind.
