Two software engineers, who ventured close to the Cauvery, were washed away by the gushing waters, in Mekedatu near Sathanur on Sunday.
The two are presumed dead. Disaster relief operations were called off for the second day on Monday.
The victims are Sameer Rahman, 29, and his friend Bhavani Shankar, 29, both residents of Bannerghatta Road in Bengaluru. They are from Bidar.
Around 10.30 a.m. on Sunday, they had gone with their roommates Amit and Srikanth to the popular tourist spot on motorbikes to see the Cauvery in spate.
According to the police, the friends went to the river’s edge to take a group picture with the gushing water in the background.
Sameer, who was trying to take the photograph, slipped and fell into the water. Bhavani jumped into the water to save Sameer, but was sucked under water, said the police.
Amit and Srikanth shouted for help. The police were alerted.
The police rushed to the spot, along with Fire and Emergency Services personnel, but could do little as the gushing waters and swirls in the rocks of the region made any search operation difficult.
After around 6 hours of searching, they called off the operation. On Monday morning, they checked the crevices under the water with the help of locals who are acquainted with the river. The National Disaster Response Force has been called to join the operation.
Sathanur police have informed the victims' families. The statements of Amit and Srikanth were recorded.
Earlier in the day, all 12 sluice gates of the Krishnarajasagar (KRS) dam had been opened, and the water level increased rapidly by over 60 feet.
Disaster management officials on their toes
As thousands gather by the banks of the Cauvery to catch a rare of view of the river in spate, police and disaster management officials are on their toes to keep tourists from being swept away by the gushing waters.
On Sunday, two software engineers slipped into the gushing waters and are feared drowned.
“Over the past week, we had sent advisories to Deputy Commissioners warning of increased flow in the river, and to keep an eye on the banks,” said an official.
The tragedy at Mekedatu has seen the Ramanagaram district administration bar tourists from venturing close to the river. Superintendent of Police (Ramanagaram) Ramesh Banoth has instructed all officers to patrol tourist spots on the banks of the Cauvery, and to warn picnickers and tourists from venturing close to the river.
Selfie-danger zones
After a spate of selfie-related deaths and injuries, the then tourism minister Priyank Kharge had mooted an online campaign on safe selfie-taking, particularly in tourist places that see high footfalls.
The Centre had even asked States to demarcate ‘selfie-danger zones’ and install signages prohibiting taking of selfies in places that are slippery or close to the edge.
The reasoning was that during the act of taking a selfie, the focus is on the camera, rather than the edge or even the waves behind.
However, while these initiatives have not taken off, Tourism Department officials said there were ‘enough signages’ around.
“Tourism, police and forest departments, and the district administration already has posted danger signs and boards asking tourists not to go to certain places. But no one reads, let alone follow instructions. Our guides and guards are drawn into confrontations by tourists who insist on going close to rivers and water falls. The mindset has to change,” said a senior Tourism Department official.
