Sudden sluice gate opening at Markonahalli dam claims six lives
Tumakuru (PTI): At least six people drowned after the sluice gate of the Markonahalli dam suddenly opened, sweeping them away on Tuesday afternoon, police said.
The victims, residents of BG Palya in Tumakuru town, were part of a group that had gone to the dam for a picnic when the incident occurred.
According to Tumakuru Superintendent of Police Ashok K V, 15 people had travelled from BG Palya to Madipalya and decided to visit the dam, as Tuesday was a public holiday.
“Seven people had entered the downstream of the dam as the water level was low. Suddenly, the water flow increased, and they were swept away,” Ashok told reporters.
Two bodies have been recovered so far, while four others remain missing, police said, adding that search operations are ongoing.
A man identified as Nawaz was rescued alive but sustained serious injuries and has been admitted to a hospital.
Police, fire, and emergency personnel rushed to the spot upon learning of the incident.
“Because it’s dark now and the water flow is high, we have halted the search. I have already deployed teams to specific points. Except for Nawaz, all others are feared dead. Two young girls are still missing,” Ashok said.
The officer explained that the dam has a natural gravity sluice gate, which opens automatically as the water level rises.
“We will get to know about the sequence of events after the investigation. We have to get details from the engineer on whether someone opened the sluice gate. Since it’s an auto-sluice, it opens when the water level increases,” he said.
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Biker injured, leopard dies in road accident near forest area in Shivamogga
Shivamogga: A leopard was killed after being hit by a motorcycle near Mandagadde in Thirthahalli taluk of Shivamogga district.
According to reports, the biker was travelling from Shivamogga towards Thirthahalli when the leopard suddenly came onto the road from a nearby forest area near Mandagadde. The rider is said to have lost control of the bike and crashed into the animal.
The leopard suffered severe injuries in the impact and died on the spot. The biker also fell onto the road along with the motorcycle and sustained serious injuries. He was shifted to a hospital in Shivamogga for further treatment.
After receiving information about the incident, forest department officials, including Gajanur RFO Vinay Kumar, visited the spot and conducted an inspection.
