Daijiworld Media Network - Jaipur

Jaipur, Sep 11: Two elderly sisters from Rajasthan died while bathing in the Tapt Kund at Badrinath Dham in Uttarakhand on Friday morning, reportedly after losing consciousness while attempting to complete a religious vow of taking 108 dips in the sacred pool.

The deceased have been identified as 71-year-old Ramu Devi, wife of Amarchand Sharma, and 73-year-old Prem Devi, wife of Madan Sharma. Both were residents of Bhilwara district in Rajasthan.

The sisters were part of a group of more than 100 pilgrims from Rajasthan who had been staying in Badrinath since September 4 and were also attending a religious discourse (Katha).

According to the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and Badrinath Police, four women from the group entered the women's section of Tapt Kund around 5 a.m. to bathe and complete the vow of taking 108 dips.

The other two women, identified as Bhagwati Devi and Sohni Devi, were unharmed.

Police said Ramu Devi and Prem Devi had taken around 50 dips when their health suddenly deteriorated. They initially took the dips slowly but reportedly began doing so more rapidly after other family members left for the temple to offer prayers.

The two women eventually became breathless and lost consciousness before collapsing into the cold water. Other pilgrims present at the spot pulled them out and rushed them to a hospital, where doctors declared both women dead.

Badrinath Police Station in-charge Mahadev Uniyal said the incident occurred around 5 a.m. Police subsequently initiated the required formalities.

The women's relatives declined to have post-mortems conducted and requested that the bodies be handed over to the family.

The family said the last rites would be performed in Haridwar. The bodies will be handed over to the relatives after completion of police formalities and in accordance with the instructions of the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM).