At least 11 people, most of them teenage girls, died after a tractor-trolley carrying devotees for Durga idol immersion overturned into a pond in Khandwa district’s Pandhana area on Thursday.

Officials said nearly 20–25 people from Ardla and Jamli villages were travelling in the trolley for immersion rituals when the accident occurred. The tractor was driven into deep water despite warnings from the local kotwar (village watchman). It lost balance and overturned, throwing the passengers into the pond.

Rescue teams recovered 10 bodies from the water, while the body of a missing girl was found during a late-night search, taking the toll to 11. Authorities said the tragedy was caused by “overconfidence” of devotees who ignored the kotwar’s warning.

Eyewitnesses said villagers immediately j

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