Farmer riding plastic can to meet DyCM drowns in Satluj

ANANDPUR SAHIB: Anxious to have a glimpse of the state Deputy Chief Minister, Sukhbir Singh Badal, during his visit to one of the flood-hit villages nearby, a sexagenarian marginal farmer drowned in the Satluj on Thursday while attempting to cross the surging river on a self-invented floating device.
Ranjit Singh, a resident of the victim's village, Amarpur Bela, was witness to the incident since he, too, had tried to cross the river in a similar fashion."Daleep Chand, who was a strong swimmer even at the age of 65, and I took off our clothes and wrapped them around our turbans before entering the roaring river by balancing on a 10-litre empty plastic-container each. As luck would have it, when we were in the middle of the river, Daleep lifted a hand to adjust his clothes from falling off his head and lost control. In no time, he had fallen into the gushing waters. Although he tried to swim, he could not," Ranjit told TOI.
On his way to meet the Deputy Chief Minister, who had come to Chandpur Bela village, which is more than 10 km from Amarpur Bela village by road, Daleep and his assistant decided to take a short-cut and cross the river - hardly 1 km stretch - to meet him. Inquiries made by TOI revealed that during monsoons, most riparian village residents adopt this unique yet erratic way to cross the river.
Daleep is survived by his wife and two sons. Told about the accident, Sukhbir announced a financial assistance of Rs 1 lakh to the kin of the deceased. Confirming the drowning incident, naib tehsildar, Noorpur Bedi, Harbhajan Singh said the victim's body could not be traced till late in the evening.