Three young men drown in Ganga

Three friends who flouted the ban on taking a dip in the Ganga died on Monday when they went in too deep and drowned, officials said. "Despite a ban on taking bath in river Ganga, put in place due to outbreak of COVID-19, the four went to take a dip.

Three friends who flouted the ban on taking a dip in the Ganga died on Monday when they went in too deep and drowned, officials said. The fourth member of the group, most of them in their late teens, was rescued by a boatman.

The incident, at the Panchal Ghat here, took place on the occasion of Somwati Amawasya, a new moon day falling on a Monday, which is considered an auspicious day in the Savan month of the Hindu calendar. The three men who died were identified as Vishal (28), Pradeep (17), and Parvinder (18). "Despite a ban on taking bath in river Ganga, put in place due to outbreak of COVID-19, the four went to take a dip. The four started drowning suddenly as they had ventured into deep water. The fourth person Umesh Chandra was saved by a boatman, but the three others drowned," said City Magistrate Ashok Kumar Maurya.