SHIRUR (UTTARA KANNADA): The Uttara Kannada district administration has suspended the rescue operations for now, considering the heavy rainfall and current in the river. The fast flowing river, heavy rainfall, the inflow from the catchment areas and the poor visibility in the water has forced the district administration to suspend its rescue operations for now.
The decision has come after a meeting with all the organisations involved in the operations. Uttara Kannada Deputy Commissioner, Lakshmi Priya gave a hint in this regard stating that the efforts are not leading anywhere, and the operations will be suspended for a while. “The search operations were conducted at three points on Saturday, and Sunday. Eshwar Malpe searched at the fourth point as well. We are unable to do anything due to the high current. We will take a decision once the current slows down,” she said.
District-in-charge minister Mankal Vaidya said that the operation will continue once the water level recedes. “We took experts opinion before pausing the search operations. We will resume the operations once the conditions are favourable,” he said. He added that it is unfortunate that three bodies were still untraceable. “We will not stop. We are also worried about their dependents, and will assist their children in education and compensate them,” he added. He also added that emergency vehicles heading towards Mangalore will be allowed.
Hotel staffer on day’s leave escapes death
Ulluvare (Uttara Kannada): Huliyappa Gouda, a staff member at Lakshmana Naik’s hotel, thanks his stars as he had an almost miraculous escape from death, on the fateful day of July 16, the day of the landslide. Gouda had been working with Naik for the last 15 years, and owns a patch of land and a house in Ulluvare. He made a living by working at Naik’s hotel. “I would cross the river to reach the hotel and 7 am and returned by 3 pm everyday. Since I was late to sow the paddy seeds this year due to a delayed monsoon, I asked Naik for a couple of days’ leave. We had an argument and settled for one day’s leave,” Gouda said. Gouda did not go to work on July 16, to sow seeds in his field, which saved him from the tragedy.
Kerala CM asks Siddaramaiah to continue search ops
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday wrote to his counterpart in Karnataka, Siddaramaiah, requesting that his government continue the rescue operations to find Arjun, the lorry driver from Kozhikode who went missing in a landslide at Shirur there recently. In the letter, Vijayan said his government appreciates the efforts taken by the teams engaged in the search-and-rescue operations to find the missing person. There have been reports that search operations have been stopped, he said, adding, “I earnestly urge you to give directions to continue the rescue operations till they yield positive results.”