Rehan Qayoom Mir
Srinagar, Jul 4: Grief and sorrow gripped Srinagar’s Batwara area after a young youth drowned to death in river Jhelum while taking bath on Friday afternoon.
The sudden death of the young boy has left the entire locality in shock.
According to the reports, the boy had gone to the river near Shivpora locality, opposite the Government School, along with two friends to take a bath in the river when the tragedy struck.
Eyewitnesses present at the scene said the boy was bathing close to the riverbank when he slipped and drowned into the water. His friends tried to raise an alarm, after which locals rushed to help and called the authorities.
As the boy drowned in water, a joint rescue operation was soon launched by the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and River Police Srinagar, who retrieved the boy identified as Adil Ahmad Shaikh, a resident of Batwara Srinagar from the river and immediately shifted him to a hospital, where doctors declared him dead.
Meanwhile, the sudden death of young Adil has descended a pall of gloom over both Batwara and nearby Shivpora localities.
Moreover, locals also expressed their concern over repeated incidents of drowning in the river and urged authorities to implement basic safety measures along open riverbanks. Meanwhile, police have taken cognizance of the incident and initiated proceedings. (KNO)