A swimming outing on Wednesday ended tragically for Surya (18), his younger brother Prakash (15) and their friend Charles (19), all residents of P&T Colony, D.J. Halli.
Prakash was washed away in an open drain (feeder channel between lakes) at Veerannapalya, behind Manyata Tech Park. The Sampigehalli police, who have registered a case, suspect that he may have bunked school to accompany his brother and their friend to swim and fish.
According to a statement given by Surya, the trio came to the spot in the afternoon. Around 3.30 p.m., he told the police that he saw Prakash, who was swimming, drowning. After his attempts to rescue him failed, he raised an alarm. Passers-by informed the police and fire and emergency services, who initiated rescue operations.
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Personnel of the fire and emergency services said that the open drain in the natural valley flows into Manyata Tech Park, where a mesh has been affixed to ensure that waste and muck does not enter the campus. They said that boy’s body may be stuck in the one-km stretch between the place where he drowned and the mesh.
Sarfaraz Khan, BBMP’s joint commissioner of Yelahanka zone, said that following heavy rains on Sunday, some areas near Allalasandra lake were flooded. To ease the flow of water, the silt in the drains was removed at some points. This increased the inflow into Jakkur lake and Rachenahalli lake. “We had alerted residents living in the surrounding areas to exercise caution. However, these boys did not know of the increased level of water,” he said.