8 drown during Ganga Dussehra celebrations in Haridwar
Eight people have drowned in Ganga in Haridwar during the Ganga Dussehra celebrations that took place in the holy city on Sunday. While the bodies of two people – a 12-year-old from Mathura and a teenager from Delhi – have been recovered by jal police, a search is on to trace the other bodies.
Twelve-year-old Mohit’s body was recovered by police on Sunday night. Mohit hailed from Mandora village in Mathura district in Uttar Pradesh, according to Kharkhari police post in charge Ranjit Tomar. Police are also searching for the body of his cousin, Jeetu, 15, who had travelled from the same village. The two drowned near Chamgadar Tapu in Har-ki-Pauri.
Another person drowned at Shatabdi bridge about 200 metres from Har-ki-Pauri. Identified as Sarvajit (18) from Nazafgarh in Delhi, his body was recovered on Monday, Kulwinder Singh Rawat, sub-inspector at Haridwar Kotwali said.
Additionally, four people drowned in a stream of Ganga behind Jai Ram Ashram. Their bodies are yet to be recovered. One more person from Bijnor district in Uttar Pradesh drowned at Chandighat.
An estimated 15 lakh people had converged at Haridwar for the celebration of the festival which is held to commemorate the day the river descended from heaven to earth according to Hindu mythology.
