Prayagraj cop turns flooded home into daily swimming ritual: 'Ganga arrived on my doorstep'

In Prayagraj, Sub-inspector Chandradeep Nishad has embraced floodwaters, posting videos of himself swimming and performing rituals.

Amid relentless rainfall in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj that left streets submerged and homes flooded, one man stood out for celebrating the deluge with open arms. Sub-inspector Chandradeep Nishad, a sub-inspector and self-described former national-level swimmer, has become a viral sensation after sharing videos of himself joyfully embracing the floodwaters invading his home.

The policeman has welcomed the swelling waters as a divine visit from the River Ganga. (Instagram/si_chandradeep_nishad)

Instead of expressing distress over the inundation, Nishad welcomed the swelling waters as a divine visit from the River Ganga. In one widely shared video, he is seen standing inside his house, still in uniform, performing a puja and offering flowers to the floodwater. “Jai Ganga Maiya ki! Main dhann hogya maa aap mere darwaaze pe dastak dene aayi. (I am blessed that you (Mother Ganga) have arrived on my doorstep),” he declares with folded hands, expressing gratitude.

In another clip, now waist-deep in water within his home, Nishad talks about how millions travelled to the Mahakumbh for a sacred dip and feels fortunate that the Ganga has come to him. “Thousands go to her. I didn’t have to go anywhere, she came to bless me,” he says, smiling.

But the celebration didn’t end there. In subsequent videos, Nishad is seen swimming in the floodwaters outside his house as bemused neighbours look on. One video shows him diving from his first-floor window into the water, though he cautions viewers not to imitate him. In the latest clip, standing on the edge of his roof alongside two young women, all three leap into the floodwater below. His caption reads: “Humari chhoriyan chhoro see kamm hai ke? (Are our girls any less than boys?) Jai Ganga Maiya.”