Student drowns in Bareilly's Leelaur lake, locals allege lack of safety measures

Bareilly (UP), Sep 24 (PTI) A 14-year-old boy drowned while bathing in the historic Leelaur lake in Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly district, officials said on Wednesday.

The body of the victim, identified as Jitendra alias Bhola, was found floating in the middle of the lake on Wednesday afternoon by villagers, who brought it ashore using a boat, they said.

The boy, a Class 6 student and youngest among four brothers, had gone to the lake to bathe after returning from school on Monday, police said.

Meanwhile, the locals are blaming the absence of trained boatmen and divers for the tragedy.

"On Tuesday, we received information about the drowning incident. The body has been sent for post-mortem," said Vinod Singh, Station House Officer of Sirauli police station.

Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of Aonla Vidushi Singh said the family will be provided financial assistance as per government rules.

Villagers claimed that boats were placed in the lake to promote tourism but neither boatmen nor divers were deployed despite assurances made during the launch of the project on August 15. They said visitors often use the boats at their own risk, and this was the first fatal incident since the lake's redevelopment.

Locals also recalled that a tourist had narrowly escaped drowning in the lake last month. They have demanded immediate deployment of trained staff and divers to prevent similar incidents in the future. PTI COR KIS NB NB