Six children aged between 7 and 12 drowned in a muddy pond while immersing a Ganesh idol that they had prepared using clay.
The incident happened around 4.30 p.m. on Tuesday in Maradaghatta village in KGF taluk of Kolar district.
Tuesday was a holiday on account of Muharram. Seven children were playing under a tree. After making the idol using clay, they decided to immerse it in Marikunte pond located half-a-kilometre away.
Police said that sand is often removed from the pond using earth-movers. As a result, the pond has a deep trench. The water was muddy owing to the recent rains, they said.
Six children formed a chain as they tried to immerse the idol. However, after getting inside the pond, they drowned one after the other. The seventh child, a girl who saw them drowning, rushed back to the village to alert other people.
The girl was reportedly so traumatised that she fainted while narrating the incident.
The deceased have been identified as Tejashri, 11, Rakshita, 8, daughters of Usha; Rohith, 10, Vaishnavi, 12, children of Ravi Reddy and Shipa; Veena, 11, daughter of Anandappa and Mamatha; and Dhanush, 7, son of Narayanaswamy and Lavanya.
The deceased were students of a government school in the village.
Mohammed Sujeetha, Superintendent of Police of KGF, said, “Seven children were playing with clay and making Ganesh idols. After some time, they went near a muddy pond 400 metres away. Six of them got inside and drowned. On seeing this, one girl ran for help. A farmer rushed to the pond and pulled out three children. They were given CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation), but could not be saved. Bodies of the others were recovered later.”
The villagers alleged that illegal sand mining in the pond is the main reason for the death of the children. They also alleged that despite repeated calls, an ambulance did not reach the spot on time.
After the incident, the government announced compensation of ₹2 lakh each to families of the deceased. Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa directed the Deputy Commissioner of Kolar to hand over the compensation.
