4 drown in separate incidents in Rishikesh, Haridwar

Haridwar: Four tourists drowned in separate incidents across Rishikesh, Haridwar and Roorkee on Wednesday as soaring summer temperatures led to a surge in visitors to Uttarakhand’s water bodies. While one body has been recovered, search operations continue for the remaining three.

In Rishikesh, two colleagues from a Meerut car showroom—Ritu Maheshwari (30) and Naresh Upadhyay (42)—were swept away by strong currents while bathing at a ghat under the Laxman Jhula police station limits. SDRF local in-charge Kavindra Sajwan confirmed that a search operation is underway.

In Haridwar, a 19-year-old youth from East Delhi, identified as Rajat, drowned after venturing into deep water in the Sapt Rishi area. Local police divers and the NDRF recovered his body, which has been sent for postmortem.

Meanwhile, in Roorkee’s Kaliyar area, a 20-year-old fruit vendor from Bareilly named Yashdan was swept away by the currents while attempting to cross the Ganga canal with friends.

Following the string of tragedies, the SDRF and local river police have strongly urged tourists and residents to avoid bathing at restricted or unguarded ghats and strictly adhere to safety protocols.