Swimming: Youth drowns in canal

SIALKOT: A youth drowned in the Upper Chenab Canal on Sunday shortly after he went there for swimming. Rescue 1122 officials said Umer Ali and some of his friends went for a swim in the canal near Marala. They said a current took him into deep waters and within seconds he was out-of-sight. His friends looked for him and later called professional help, but Ali was not found. Divers are now trying to locate the body. Though the district administration imposed a ban on swimming in the canal and picnicking at its banks under Section 144 of the Pakistan Penal Code a few weeks ago, but some people continue to gather at and swim in the canal, including the Marala-Ravi-Link and the Bambanwala-Ravi-Bedian Link in Daska. District Coordination Officer Shakeel Ahmed said that due to the huge number of people visiting the canal, especially on Sundays, the district administration had not been able to stop them. He said he would soon announce an effective strategy to stop people.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 27^th, 2013.