30 drown in Punjab during Eid holidays

Citizens took to bathing in canals amid unbearable mercury levels

LAHORE: A man's body was found in the canal in the Nawab Town area on Wednesday, raising the provincial tally of deaths by drowning to 30 over the last three days.

Police said the unidentified man was wearing a maroon shirt and black pants.

Nawab Town Station House Officer (SHO) Taimoor Abbas Khan said the corpse was recovered from a canal near Thokar Niaz Beg.

Police are investigating the case to ascertain the cause of death.

The body has been shifted to a morgue for postmortem examination. Police highlighted that the postmortem report would help identify the deceased and the cause of his death.

During the three days of Eid, the citizens took full advantage of the lockdown relaxation and violated section 144 by bathing in the canals to beat the unbearable mercury levels.

Concerns over coronavirus have led Lahore police to take action to prevent citizens from bathing in the canal which was the traditional retreat for citizens in summer.

Lahore Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Zulfiqar Hameed and Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Operations Rai Babar Saeed warned of action against those who defy the bathing ban.

“Citizens should not violate government restrictions. These are in place to protect them from the dangerous pandemic,” the CCPO explained.

He added that special police teams are constantly patrolling along the canal to implement the lockdown rules.

“Preventive actions are being taken against those going for a dip in the canal, they are given awareness about social distancing and immediately sent back home.”

Official records have confirmed as many as 30 deaths due to drowning, whereas 40 lost their lives in road traffic crashes across the province.

Rescue teams responded to at least 47 drowning emergencies in the last three days, of which 17 individuals were saved.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 28^th, 2020.