LUCKNOW, Aug. 4 -- A day after 14-year-old Riju Hamid was swept away by the strong current of the Kukrail river, his grieving family alleged there was no immediate response from authorities during the critical hours of the search. Riju had gone out in the rain with his friend Sahil on Saturday afternoon and was pulled under by the river's current near Kukrail Bandh around 4 pm. His body was recovered nearly eight hours later, around midnight, nearly 200 metres downstream. According to his mother, Basiran Nisha, locals were forced to begin the search on their own. "We waited for help, but no one came. We cleared garbage from the drain and kept looking," she said. "I saw him waving for help, but we couldn't reach him in time." His aunt, Rukina Khatun, said the drain was filled with silt, filth, and debris, making the search difficult. "We used ropes and bamboo sticks. Even children from the locality joined in. But no rescue team came for hours." The family and neighbours searched as far as Balu Adda, nearly four kilometres away, before returning to the original site, where Riju's body was finally spotted. Sahil, the friend who was with Riju, said they had climbed down the embankment to bathe. "I tried to hold his hand, but the water pulled him away. I had to run for help." Police officials said the body was sent for postmortem examination and an inquiry has been initiated into the incident. htc...