BELAGAVI: Aarati Chavan and Karuna Barde were neighbours at Sambra village in Belagavi. Fortunately, Aarati’s sister Poonam, who had also gone for the study tour, escaped before the tragedy struck.
Poonam, who was also a classmate of her deceased sister and neighbour to Karuna, had responded positively to the alert of the villagers not to venture deep into the sea.
Unfortunately, Aarati was supposed to get a gold medal for topping in all the previous semesters in Electronics and Communication department. She had also secured a job through a campus interview conducted by a reputed company in Mumbai.
Aarati and Poonam’s parents are teachers in private schools. Their father Deelip Chavan is the president of ‘Mee Marathi’, a social organisation.
“As we do not have any male children, we had considered our daughters as sons and we were encouraging them to get good education. They were very good in their studies,” Chavan said.
Chavan’s first daughter is pursuing Master of Surgery (MS) in USA. Poonam is his second daughter. Aarati’s neighbour Karuna had lost her father two years ago and her mother worked at a food joint.
Karuna’s mother said her daughter had promised to make her life comfortable and provide good education to her brother, once she started earning.
“I am a small farmer and was not in a position to give education to my daughter. However, she had assured me of clearing her education loans after she gets a job,” said Satyappa Kole whose daughter Maya also.