Bhubaneswar: Police will seek suggestions from the water resources department and the fire services to prevent drowning mishaps.

The move followed after two schoolchildren drowned in the Kuakhai river on Wednesday.

Deputy commissioner of police Anup Kumar Sahoo said they had deployed two home guards on the Kuakhai riverbank to prevent people from bathing there. "We are also in touch with other concerned agencies to identify the vulnerable spots in the river. Later, signboards will be installed there," said Sahoo.

The group of six studying in Unit IX Boys High School had been to the river instead of attending classes.

Two fishermen rescued three, while scuba divers later fished out the bodies of two deceased. Fire officials said seven places, including the Kuakhai river, Puri canal and the Daya river, in the city were vulnerable towards drowning cases.

The police said they were planning to install iron fencing on the bridge over the river. "We will take local people's help in running awareness drive, which will be intensified during rains," said a police official.

A 49-year-old woman had a miraculous escape after she jumped into the river on Monday. More than a dozen people have drowned in the river in past two years.