Daijiworld Media Network - Kundapur (VM)

Kundapur, Jun 30: In a tragic incident, two girls drowned in a culvert at Mogebettu-Kallandi near Kota here on Saturday June 30.

The deceased have been identified as Sandhya (9) daughter of Tavasi from Tamil Nadu and Dhanalaxmi (12), daughter of Madhesh from Mysore.

They were studying in a nearby government school and were said to be good in studies. Sandhya was a class 3 student and Dhanalaxmi was in class 6. Their families have been living in Mogebettu-Kallandi from past 10 years.

On Saturday after school, Sandhya and Dhanalaxmi with three others came to the culvert to play in the water. Unfortunately, they drowned soon after they stepped in.

The other three children rushed to inform Sandhya and Dhanalaxmi's parents. Rescue efforts were undertaken immediately, but the children could not be saved. Their lifeless bodies were fished out of the culvert.

Sarvottam Shetty owns the culvert which was filled with 15 to 20 feet of water.

Ashok P, Kota inspector along with officials Ghaniraj and Pradeep Nayak investigated the case.

There are several culverts and pits in the limits of Bolur gram panchayat. The pits are formed mainly due to mining activities in the summer and brim with water during the monsoons. Locals alleged that no precaution has been been taken to cover these pits even though several lives have been lost.