KARWAR: The closure of Murdeshwar beach has increased the footfalls in other famous beaches of Uttara Kannada district including Gokarna. In the last one week, seven people including two foreign tourists have been rescued from drowning on Gokarna beach.
As the new year eve approaching the locals are demanding added security and rescue measures at Gokarna and other beaches in Uttara Kannada district
Tourists enjoying themselves in the water are losing their lives in the sea. Recently five students from Kolar and Bengaluru drowned at the Murudeshwar beach. Consequently, access to Murudeshwar beach has been restricted for tourists.
However, tourists are visiting other areas, and at Gokarna's Kudle Beach, lifeguards have saved five domestic and international tourists in the past four days.
At Kudle Beach, an Italian tourist named George, who was drowning in the sea, was rescued. While swimming in the sea, he got caught in a whirlpool and called for help. Lifeguards Nagendra S Kurle, Pradeep Ambig, and tourist guide Shekhar Harikantra promptly rescued him.
The experts call for police security at the beaches till the new year is over. "There is no crowd control at our beaches. The police presence is essential especially during holiday seasons and on weekends. Many tourists unknowingly venture into the deep sea and get themselves in trouble," said a tour operator from Gokarna.
Koppal boy's body handed over
Relatives of student from Ganadal village in Yelburga taluk, Koppal district, who died after falling into a well, staged a protest on Thursday, alleging negligence by the teachers as the cause of the incident.
The relatives of the deceased, Nirupadi Harijan, an 8th-grade student of the Government Higher Primary School in Ganadal, Yelburga taluk, arrived in Bhatkal after hearing the news of his death. After visiting the site where the boy died, they immediately staged a protest, blaming the teachers for the tragedy.
They alleged that the teachers were responsible for the boy's death. Despite recent warnings following the death of four girl students in Murdeshwar last week, the teachers took the students on a trip. "They convinced us by assuring that there would be one teacher for every seven students," said a relative.
However, they accused the teachers of discriminatory behavior that led to the death of the Dalit boy. The protesters demanded that the guilty teachers be brought to the spot and refused to leave until their demands were met.
Tahsildar Nagendra Shetty and PI Gopikrishna from the town station tried to pacify the relatives, urging them to file a complaint against the teachers instead of protesting. However, the relatives stood firm. Eventually, they were successfully convinced to move to the government hospital where the deceased's body was kept.
The protest continued at the hospital, with the relatives demanding the immediate suspension of the teachers. Finally, the police managed to calm the enraged family and accepted their complaint.