Belthangady: A college student who had gone for a bath in the river with his friends drowned in the river water on May 19, 2026, in a tragic incident in the Pajiradka river of Kalmanja village. Sripurna Deshpande (21), a resident of Gokak taluk of Belgaum district, died in this tragedy. While bathing with his friends, he drowned in a pit without knowing the depth of the river and did not know how to swim.
Locals search:
Unable to save his friend who was drowning in the river, his friends shouted loudly. Noticing this, locals reached the spot and searched for the drowned person. The incident took place at around 3.40 pm and local swimmers searched till six o’clock. Despite searching at various places in the river, no trace of the drowned person was found. More than 10 swimming experts conducted a search operation, but to no avail.
Appeal to Shaurya Team:
After the locals searched from around 3.40 pm to 6 pm, no trace of the missing person was found, Sub-Inspector Samarth R Ganigera of Dharmasthala Police Station has informed the volunteers of Shaurya Sri Dharmasthala Emergency Response Team. As soon as the information was received from the police, the volunteers of Shaurya Sri Dharmasthala Disaster Management Team of Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala Rural Development Project reached the spot and are engaged in the operation in cooperation with the fire brigade. The operation was challenging due to the water pressure and the deep area. According to the information of those who saw the drowning, the person had drowned in the river several times, but no trace was found.
20-foot deep hole found:
While searching by swimming and drowning along the river, a hole about 20 to 25 feet deep was found in the middle of the river. The volunteers who rushed to the site of the pit by boat continued their search with the help of a stick about 20 feet long. When they reached the middle of the pit, they felt a soft object touching the stick. The volunteers who noticed this thought that there might be a dead body and informed the fire officials, who confirmed that it was a dead body.
Operation to secure the boat:
As soon as the location of the dead body was confirmed, the brave team of volunteers decided to go down to a depth of more than 15 feet, using the boat as a support and pushing a long stick into the area where the dead body was. The boat was tilted sideways and secured with the help of ropes on both sides. Making sure that the boat did not shake, Sachin Bhide, who is an expert in diving, lowered the stick into the water and went down to the depths of the water with the help of the stick. The dead body was found at a depth of about twenty feet and he held it and came up with the help of the stick. The team of volunteers who were ready on the boat were successful in bringing the dead body to the river bank. Master Avinash Bhide of Shaurya Samiti, Captain Ravindra, Emergency Response Team representative Sulaiman, members Anil P.A, Ramesh Bhairakatta were involved in the operation.
Training:
The Shaurya Disaster Management Volunteers were trained for a week by international swimming experts at the Varanasi Farm House near Puttur by the Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala Rural Development Project six months ago. “The scientific training on swimming and drowning skills received from the experts helped in conducting this operation successfully,” says Master Avinash Bhide of the Disaster Management Committee.
Appreciation for the team of volunteers:
It is not easy to operate underwater at night. The volunteers of Shaurya Dharmasthala team successfully completed the challenging adventure. Anil Kumar S.S, Chief Executive Officer of Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala Rural Development Project, called the volunteers and expressed his appreciation. Vivek V. Poys, Regional Director of Janajagruti Regional Department, made necessary arrangements to provide training to the volunteers and appreciated the punctuality and courage of the volunteers. Police Sub-Inspector Samarth R. Ganigera, Fire Department Officer Usman expressed their appreciation. Disaster Management Program Project Officer Jaiwant Patgar has been in constant touch with the volunteers and has helped them.
Kodakani Jaiwant Patgar
