Palghar deluge washes away father and son
A father-son duo drowned in Palghar on Tuesday. Ruchit Raut was on his way to a Virar college when his bus, carrying 16 other passengers was stranded on a flooded bridge in Kelwe. The passengers formed a human chain to cross over the low lying bridge. Ruchit broke the link in a bid to reach his father Dinesh, who had reached to rescue his son, and in the process got swept away.
Ruchit, 16, had boarded a bus to Kelwe railway station to catch the Dahanu-Virar shuttle to attend his first day at Viva College in Virar around 5.30am. The bus was supposed to cross the flooded Khambkadi Bridge. “The driver managed to cross the first low lying area and decided not to proceed further as it could be dangerous since the guard stone was not visible,” said Bhushan Save, a family friend of the Raut family.
The passengers waited for daybreak to return home as it was still raining heavily. “Ruchit called Dinesh, 52, and requested him to come and pick him up from the spot. Dinesh took his bike and reached the spot,” said Save. Meanwhile, Ruchit along with the passengers got down and formed a chain. “Dinesh, on seeing his son also entered the waters. Ruchit broke the chain and reached out to his father. Dinesh was leading towards the other end of the bridge, when he missed a step and fell into the water. Both of them were swept away,” said Save.
Dinesh was a farmer and ran a grocery store in Kelwe. His eldest son, Bhavik, 22, was an engineering student of VJTI, Matunga and Ruchit had also sought admission to become an engineer at the college in Virar. A case of accidental deaths has been registered by the Kelwe coastal police.
Ruchit, 16, had boarded a bus to Kelwe railway station to catch the Dahanu-Virar shuttle to attend his first day at Viva College in Virar around 5.30am. The bus was supposed to cross the flooded Khambkadi Bridge. “The driver managed to cross the first low lying area and decided not to proceed further as it could be dangerous since the guard stone was not visible,” said Bhushan Save, a family friend of the Raut family.
The passengers waited for daybreak to return home as it was still raining heavily. “Ruchit called Dinesh, 52, and requested him to come and pick him up from the spot. Dinesh took his bike and reached the spot,” said Save. Meanwhile, Ruchit along with the passengers got down and formed a chain. “Dinesh, on seeing his son also entered the waters. Ruchit broke the chain and reached out to his father. Dinesh was leading towards the other end of the bridge, when he missed a step and fell into the water. Both of them were swept away,” said Save.
Expert swimmers of Dadarpada went to search the bodies in a small boat. They found Ruchit’s body on Tuesday. Dinesh’s body was found, stuck among the mangroves, on Wednesday.
Dinesh was a farmer and ran a grocery store in Kelwe. His eldest son, Bhavik, 22, was an engineering student of VJTI, Matunga and Ruchit had also sought admission to become an engineer at the college in Virar. A case of accidental deaths has been registered by the Kelwe coastal police.
