HUBBALLI: A 22-year-old youth was washed away in flood waters at the Neersagar reservoir on Sunday evening. The operation to trace him had to be called off because of rain and floods, while it also started getting dark. Police officials from Kalghatgi and a team of fire and emergency personnel will resume the operation on Monday.
The police said that the victim, Kiran Rajpur, a resident of Begur village of Dharwad district, had come to the dam along with his friends. He went to the edge of the ridge to take a selfie but slipped and fell into the gushing waters, eyewitnesses said. He was washed away and efforts by his friends to trace him went in vain.
'Villagers downstream alerted'
The police said a large number of visitors come to the dam on weekends. "Dam authorities and guards keep warning visitors not to go too close to the bund. But many ignore the warnings and try to take better selfies and photos," said a police official.
The police are now planning to ban visitors near the dam till water levels recede. "The current is high and it is near impossible to survive a fall here. Even expert swimmers cannot do it. Family members of the deceased youth Kiran Rajpur, had come near the accident spot. We sent them back. We have alerted villagers downstream about the accident," the police officer said.