A view of the Saryu river.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Water from the Saryu river in Ayodhya will be sent to Sri Lanka for the consecration ceremony of a temple dedicated to Sita, being constructed there.

The Ram Temple Trust and the Ayodhya district administration have pledged to provide the holy water on request from those behind the construction of the Sita Amma temple.

The ceremony is scheduled to take place on May 19th. The Uttar Pradesh State Government has directed officials in Ayodhya to honour its commitment to supply sacred Saryu water to the temple in Sri Lanka.

Three more persons were pulled out from the Saryu River in Bihar’s Saran district on November 2, taking the total number of rescued people to 13 in the boat tragedy a day before, an official said.

The toll remained unchanged at two as no new body was recovered, Saran District Magistrate Aman Samir said.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar expressed sorrow over the boat capsize incident.

He announced an ex-gratia of ₹4 lakh to the next of kin of each deceased and directed the authorities concerned to speed up the rescue operation.

“The CM announced an ex gratia payment of ₹4 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased. He extended condolences to the families of the deceased,” said the statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO).

“So far, 13 people have been rescued, including those who managed to swim to the river bank. Rescue operation is still on to trace the four missing persons,” Mr. Samir told PTI.

The two deceased were women and identified as Phool Kumari and Chatthiya Devi. They were residents of Matiyar village.

The boat with 19 people on board capsized in the river on Wednesday evening near Matiyar Ghat in Manjhi block.

This was the second major incident of boat capsize in the State in the recent past. More than 15 children were feared drowned after a boat carrying them capsized in the Bagmati River in Muzaffarpur district in September.