Last rites of eight drowning victims performed

The funeral of seven students and a faculty member of the Maratha Mandal Engineering College, who drowned off Wayari beach in Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra, was held in Belagavi district on Sunday.

Among the students who were rescued, Akankasha Gatage, whose condition is said to be critical, is undergoing treatment in the intensive care unit of the Civil Hospital in Sindhudurg, while Sanket Suresh Gadavi and Anita Ramappa Halalli have been discharged from the hospital.

The bodies of the victims were brought to Belagavi district government hospital late on Saturday night. Relatives and friends of the deceased, who had been waiting at the hospital, broke down when the bodies arrived.

The last rites of the faculty member, Mahesh Kuduchakar, were held at Shahapur, while those of students Avadooth Tahasildar and Mujamil Annigeri were performed at Mahantesh Nagar and near government hospital in Belagavi, respectively.

Arti Chawan and Karuna Barde, who were childhood friends, were cremated at Sambra, while Kiran Khandekar and Nitin Mutnalkar were cremated at Turmari and Kakati villages, respectively.

The last rites of Maya Kole were held at Bambarga village, about 25 km from the city. The entire village was in a state of grief as Maya, after her graduation, would have become the first engineer from the village. She was the daughter of a small landholder.

The dreams of her family have been shattered following to her tragic death, the villagers said.