Man, son drown in swollen Ghogha river in US Nagar

Rudrapur: A 47-year-old man and his 17-year-old son from Bazpur in Udham Singh Nagar district died after being swept away in the Ghogha river.Akil Ahmed and his son Kamil, who struggled with a leg disability, were heading to the fields with his father to prune poplar trees on Friday around 11.30 am when the river suddenly swelled, and both slipped into the gushing waters. Villagers pulled Akil out in an unconscious state and rushed him to the sub-district hospital, where doctors declared him dead. His body was handed over to the family after the post-mortem and buried in the village graveyard on Saturday.The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), which was conducting the rescue, recovered Kamil's body from bamboo thickets along the river around 5.45 pm on Saturday. "The body has been sent for post-mortem," said CO Vibhav Saini.Akil, a daily wage labourer, supported his family by working in the fields. He is survived by his wife and five daughters, two of whom are engaged. Kamil, the youngest sibling, was a Class 11 student at the Govt Inter College in Bazpur. "All possible assistance will be provided to the bereaved family. A cheque of Rs 4 lakh has already been handed over from the disaster relief fund," said SDM Amrita Sharma.Villagers, however, accused the SDRF of delay in the rescue and staged a protest on Saturday. Senior officials, including SDM Amrita Sharma and Tehsildar Akshay Kumar Bhatt later arrived and pacified the crowd.