WATCH: Elderly man almost drowns trapped in swampy mud on banks of Ken river in UP's Hamirpur

New Delhi: An elderly man got trapped in the slippery and boggy mud on the banks of Ken in UP’s Hamirpur district while he was out to fetch water from the river. He could be rescued only after strenuous efforts of villagers for hours. The video of the rescue went viral on Twitter and attracted sharp reactions.

According to media reports, two villagers, 55-year-old Chhotelal and 70-year-old Chehnu, had gone to fetch fresh water from the Ken river, but got stuck in the swamp. Several villages rely on Ken as their only lifeline for fresh water since the underground water is too hard to be potable. The river flows in Uttar Pradesh’s Hamirpur district. When the villagers on the scene saw both of them drowning in the swamp, they panicked, and after much effort, managed to pull both of them to safety. The rescue took several hours and the video of the rescue operation went viral on social media. The Sisolar police station in-charge Suresh Kumar Saini said he was not yet seized of the matter and that it would be looked into. There is a scarcity of potable water in the nearby villages of Gaughat, Chhani, Bakcha, Khair, Gadha, Baijemau, and Parehta. The water in these villages is so hard that people are unable to drink it, so they bring drinking water from the Ken river, which runs through the village. Villagers, said reports, can do pretty little other than lug water from Ken on bicycles, bullock carts, tractors, and on foot. The banks of the Ken river have turned swampy in the wake of recent floods and incessant heavy rains. According to a report by Dainik Jagran, the village head Rakesh Pal told that there are 40 hand pumps and six wells in the village but the water is all too saline to drink. In the past, the administration made several efforts to provide drinking water, but in vain. These villages are being covered under the Namami Gange scheme, and in summers, drinking water is provided by tanker. With inputs from agencies Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.