Punjab Newsline| Haridwar/Chandigarh
A pilgrimage trip from Chandigarh turned tragic on Friday when four friends drowned in the Ganganahar near Jatwara Bridge in Haridwar’s Jwalapur Kotwali area while trying to save one another.
According to police, the youths had travelled from Chandigarh to Haridwar to collect Kanwar water during the ongoing Kanwar Yatra. They were taking a bath in the canal when one of them suddenly slipped into deep water and was caught in the strong current. Seeing him struggle, the other three immediately jumped in to rescue him.
However, the canal’s powerful flow, deep water and muddy, marshy riverbed prevented them from regaining balance, and all four were swept away by the current.
Police and SDRF teams launched a rescue operation and recovered all four youths from the canal, but doctors declared them dead. The bodies have been sent to the district hospital for post-mortem examination.
The deceased were identified as Shivanshu (16), Nitish, Bharat and Rohit, all residents of Sector 26, Chandigarh.
Senior police officials remained at the spot during the rescue operation. SP City Abhay Pratap Singh said the incident occurred at a place that was not an authorised bathing ghat and where warning boards had already been installed. He added that the muddy bottom of the canal caused the youths to get trapped in slush, making rescue extremely difficult.
The administration has appealed to devotees visiting Haridwar during the Kanwar Yatra to bathe only at designated ghats and strictly follow safety instructions issued by the authorities.
