A weekend trip proved to be near fatal for a city-based entrepreneur whose hand was chomped off by a crocodile while he was trying to rescue his dogs at a lake in a reserve forest in Ramanagaram district on Sunday.
Mudit Dandawate, 26, who runs a healthcare startup in the city, is undergoing treatment at Hosmat Hospital in Bengaluru.
Mr. Dandawate and his friend decided to drive to Thattekere Reserve Forest, 55 km from Bengaluru, with his two dogs. Around 7 a.m., they parked the car outside the forest area and went in with the dogs.
According to the orthopedician at Hosmat Hospital, Anjana, the dogs were not on a leash and rushed into the lake.
“Mr. Dandawate ran after the dogs, but failed to notice the crocodile. It ripped off his left forearm,” said Dr. Anjana, who is part of the team that is treating him.
With nearly 12 crocodiles in the freshwater lake, forest officials said numerous boards had been placed in the area prohibiting people from entering it.
According to the forest officials, four forest guards and watchers — who were in the field surveying the boundary for elephants — rushed to the lake and took Mr. Dandawate to a nearby hospital, from where he was taken to Hosmat Hospital.
Thomas Chandy, chief of orthopaedics, Hosmat Hospital, said the dead tissues were cleaned through a process called debridement. “The procedure will be repeated on Monday. The wound will be kept open for a few days and we will close it once we are sure it won’t turn infectious,” he said and added that in three months, Mr. Dandawate will be provided with an artificial forearm.
Trespassing case filed
Trouble continues to be on the horizon for Mr. Dandawate, an IIT Bombay graduate, who hails from Nagpur.
Javeed Mumtaz, Deputy Conservator of Forests (Bannerghatta National Park), said a case has been booked by the department under Section 24 of the Karnataka Forest Act, 1963, for trespassing. “It is a prohibited area, and is a key corridor for elephants who use the lakes,” he said.
Thattekere Reserve Forest is situated between the hills of Bannerghatta National Park and Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary, and is popular with Bengalureans looking for a weekend travel.
Forest officials said that though the area was off limits, it was a common sight to see vehicles make a beeline into the porous forest boundary. Even on Saturday, forest guards said two groups having arrived in SUVs attempted to enter the forests for a picnic.
The southern end of the forest has a popular temple and often, visitors stray from there towards the lake. “The lake has a good number of crocodiles, while it is commonly used by elephants too as it is a pristine waterbody. Locals know the dangers of the lakes,” said the official.
