ANANTAPUR: As many as 17 persons died due to drowning in six separate incidents in the just-ended fortnight in Anantapur district. Presence of abundant water at local tanks and canals coupled with soaring summer temperatures have been driving many people to swim in the water bodies. Many youngsters are risking their lives without taking precautions while swimming in the water bodies.
While 17 died so far in April, 40 people drowned in the last three months in the district which depicts the gravity of the issue. Recently, three Bengaluru-based persons, who visited the district to celebrate Sri Rama Navami in their ancestral village, drowned after they went for swimming in Upper Pennar Dam. On April 05, two other youths belonging to Rehmatpuram, who went for swimming, died of drowning at Konduru in Lepakshi. The police said the youths didn’t know how to swim.
Even as dams in the district were filled to the brim due to surplus rainfall in the last rainy season, not even a single lascar, who usually monitors and restricts public from venturing into the water, can be seen at the water bodies. Further, the irrigation department officials did not install caution boards displaying the depth at water bodies. N Aswarth, AFO (Anantapur), urged parents to prevent their children from venturing into the water bodies.