An engineering student of Anna University in Chennai drowned in the Nagalapuram falls, 45 km from Puttur, on Friday. His body was fished out after a gruelling search on Saturday afternoon.
According to forest officials of Satyavedu, a group of 16 friends, including some engineering students from Chennai, reached the waterfalls on Friday. Around 2 p.m., they left for Bhupateswara Kona, a water body deep inside the forest, seven km from the reservoir point. Their revelry continued in the waterfalls when late in the evening they noticed one member of their group, Santosh (21), missing. After a futile search, the group, with the help of the Satyavedu circle police, sought the help from the Fire Department.
Fire department personnel, with the help of boats and torches, carried out a search till 9 p.m. on Friday and resumed it again in the early hours of Saturday. Santosh’s body was found in a cavity between two rocks, half a km from the spot where the students had camped, on Saturday afternoon. The Nagalapuram police shifted the body to area hospital for autopsy.
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Forest Range Officer (Satyavedu) J. Prasad said it had become a tough task to prevent youth from entering the forest, and making revelry in the reserve forest. “In spite our of vigilance, the youth hoodwink the patrol parties and venture into the forests through the rough terrain. Students from Tamil Nadu, who do no know the topography of the hillocks and forests, are drowning. Some local people are misguiding the youth and taking them into the water bodies for petty cash. The managements of the colleges in Tamil Nadu will be informed about this phenomenon of students coming here without proper guidance,” he said.