Brothers feared drowned in the Hooghly

HOWRAH: Two brothers are feared to have drowned after being swept away by the high tide in the Hooghly on Saturday afternoon. Navin Kumar Singh, 18, cleared his Higher Secondary examinations this year while his 16-year-old brother Pravin cleared his Madhyamik.
The brothers — residents of Naskarpara Lane in the Botanic Garden police station area — reportedly wanted to learn how to swim and would visit the ghat next to the Indian Botanic Garden every afternoon.They had also approached Alok Das, a trainer at the ghat.
Das said he had told them it was extremely dangerous to swim in the Hooghly without sufficient practice. He also asked them to take lessons in a pond, build up stamina and then join his class.
On Saturday afternoon, the two brothers tried to get into the water at the ghat again. Das chased them away and then continued with his lessons. After Das left the spot around 1.30pm, the brothers returned and entered the water.
According to a local, Navin was the first to be swept away. Pravin tried to save him but the current carried him away as well.
“I had warned them against swimming in the Hooghly since they were novices. I even got them admitted to basic swimming training at a pond. Had they not been so reckless, such a thing wouldn’t have taken place,” said Nand Kishore Singh, the boys’ father.
Divers continued to search for the duo till well after dark. Boats and launches were also pressed into service. “Search operations are still on and we have also alerted the Kolkata River Police to look for the two on the other side,” said Sunil Yadav, DC (South), Howrah City Police.