The twin falls of Bharachukki and Gaganachukki in Chamarajanagar district have turned death traps for tourists and witnessed nearly 100 unnatural deaths in the last seven years.
Two techies from Bangalore drowned here on Saturday. At least one youth drowns here every month.
Shockingly, around 70 per cent of the victims are from Bangalore, many of them below 30 years. The total number of unnatural deaths below 30 has touched 80, whereas 12 who died were over 30 years. Most of them were medical or engineering students, besides techies.
The number of deaths increased every year because visitors paid scant regard to the whirlpools, slippery rocks, dangerous deep spots nearby and the strong currents.
The tragedies are more frequent on weekends and in the month of December. On an average, 800 to 1,000 tourists visit the twin falls daily during holidays and weekends.
The statistics by Kollegal Rural police revealed that the drowning incidents have been recurring despite the erection of signboards. Tourists had also been cautioned through pamphlets containing statistics of unnatural deaths.
Chamarajanagar SP Rajendra Prasad said that they have taken initiatives to sensitise the tourists visiting the twin falls.
“Despite this, youths pay no heed to the warnings. We have displayed signboards alerting tourists about danger zones, undercurrents and the number of deaths. We have published 50,000 pamphlets which are being distributed to the tourists. Now we are thinking of displaying the name, age and qualification along with the photo of the victims to alert the tourists,” he said.
The district administration banned illegal entry into the falls for bathing and boating, besides deploying forest and police personnel at the entry point to warn tourists, if the caution is ignored.
A police official pleading anonymity blamed Forest Department officials for the deaths.
Despite repeated requests, the Department did not erect a fence to prevent tourists from going down to the falls which claimed the lives of many youths.
“I experience difficulty during every postmortem and the sorrow of grieving family members is beyond description,” he added.
Range Forest Officer Ashok Kumar was not available for comment.