With the monsoon setting in and empty quarrying pits overflowing, Bangalore is witnessing a spurt in drowning incidents.
In the last two months, nearly 20 children have drowned.
The latest incident was reported on Thursday evening when two boys drowned at Honnakalasapura lake near Anekal when they had gone swimming. The deceased were identified as Diwakar (14), son of Prakash, a resident of Rudramma Layout in Vinayakanagar, and Abhilash (13), son of Krishnappa of Marutinagar.
The incident occurred around 4 pm when the two boys, along with other children, went swimming. Even as they drowned, the other children ran and hid themselves, fearing their parents’ wrath.
There was full-blown panic in the area as none of the children returned home till late in the night.
All the parents were terrified that their children had drowned.
The local police say that most drowning incidents have been taking place because of the open quarry pits.
“These pits have no barricades and once the quarrying is over, the contractors vacate the place without any fencing around the pits,” the police said.
Inspector A V Lakshmi Narayana of Parappana Agrahara told Express: “These quarry owners wake up only after such incidents are reported. A few quarries near Chikkanagamangala were filled a few days ago. We warned them and asked them to build a compound around the quarry, and we even registered a negligence case against the owner. We have also written a letter to the deputy commissioner to ensure security measures around the lakes.”