A four-year-old drowned at Bappanadu village in Mulky on Tuesday, according to the police. They said that Athmika (4) and Kritika (2) were playing near a storm-water drain on Tuesday afternoon when they slipped into it at Yenkur Thota. The local people saved Kritika. A case has been registered at Mulky police station.
Tahsildar Ravichandra Naik said that it was yet to be determined whether the child was washed away or whether it merely slipped into the drain. The incident which came to light when an official release listed Athmika as one of the victims of rain-related accidents that had claimed five lives so far since April.
The release said that earlier this week Dayanand Naik, a resident of Puttur, was killed when he was struck by lightning. Puttur tahsildar M. Dasegowda said Mr. Naik's family had been given Rs. 1 lakh compensation. A house in Puttur had been fully damaged due to rain and the family was given Rs. 35,000 in compensation, he added. So far, three people were struck by lightning this year, said a release. .
Sita Poojary and her daughter Gayathri of Bantwal were killed on April 15. Monappa Poojary, Ms. Sita's husband, had been given Rs. 2 lakh compensation. The family of Janardhan Naik of Puttur, who was killed by lightning on May 11, had been given Rs. 1 lakh compensation.
