HAVERI: A 10-year-old boy was washed away in an open drain in front of his residence in Haveri district on Wednesday night. His body was recovered by the rescue team on Thursday afternoon.
Police said that Vedant Gudavi, studying in the Grade 5 of Lion Public School in Haveri, was near his residence when the incident happened. He slipped into the overflowing drain in front of his house and got washed away in front of his grandparents.
Family members tried their best to trace the boy but failed. The search operation that began on Wednesday night ended on Thursday afternoon after the rescue team found Vedant's body stuck in a manhole.
The Haveri district and city, in particular, have been receiving heavy rain for the last 48 hours. Several roads witnessed flooding and a similar situation was created in front of the residence of Vedant. According to the family members, the boy went out to see the flooding drains and slipped into it.
Haveri district incharge minister Shivanand Patil consoled the death of the boy and assured suitable compensation from the government. Haveri MP and former chief minister of Karnataka Basavaraj Bommai called on the state government to start assisting the rain-affected farmers in the district.
Bommai said that houses have collapsed due to continuous rains and immediate financial assistance should be released for those who have lost their homes.
"Relief centres should be set up for those displaced, providing them with adequate arrangements. Several village roads have been washed away and the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) and Public Works Department (PWD) should be instructed to restore connectivity immediately. I have already spoken to the Haveri District Commissioner over the phone," he said.
Bommai criticized the state government for not providing any compensation to farmers during the drought and he emphasized that they should not repeat the same mistake now. "The government must quickly provide compensation for the crop losses without waiting for the central government. After providing the immediate relief, there would still be an opportunity to seek aid from the central government," he said. He urged the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to focus on the flood situation in the Haveri district and immediately release funds from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) available to the District Commissioner.