Bangalore: B.Com student, Soheb Michael Cherian was looking forward to enjoying the weekend with his friends at the Chunchi falls along the Arkavathi river, but instead the 20-year-old drowned in the waterfall Saturday despite being able to swim. Some believe he may have been swept away by strong undercurrents in the water not visible on the calm surface.
Chunchi is only one of four treacherous waterfalls in Saathanur police station limits, the others being Bommasandra, Sangama and Mekedatu and every now and then the police receive reports of
drowning from these falls.
“This month alone we have had three cases of drowning at Chunchi falls. On an average three to four deaths due to drowning are reported every month from these spots,” says a police officer of the Saathanur station.
The forest department says certain areas have strictly restricted entry and signboards have been erected at these spots to warn tourists of the dangers as unlike locals who are aware of the risks involved in picnicking at them, outsiders have lost their lives when visiting these places.
The problem is not all temptingly beautiful spots along the Cauvery river belt are regulated. Besides the main tourist spots like those of Gaganachukki, Barachukki, Mekedatu, and Muthathi, there are a dozen other places noted for their natural beauty and waterfalls along the river that are unregulated and these pose the greatest threat to unsuspecting holidaymakers.
In fact, the most notorious stretch of the Cauvery lies between Shivanasamudra and Muthathi where the water is also infested with crocodiles. With the river running through dense
forest in some stretches, people are forbidden from cooking, bathing, lighting fires or consuming alcohol in these zones.
But these rules are often ignored as many venture into restricted forest land and proceed to litter it with liquor bottles and other rubbish. Visitors to the famous temple in Muthathi, for example, cook sacrificed animals and drink alcohol by the river banks, polluting it.
While frowning on these practices, the forest authorities say they are helpless to stop the mess and it is upto the people to understand that such carelessness can sometimes cost them their lives in wild unregulated terrain that they have no business entering.
Next: Drowned student’s body buried
Drowned student’s body buried
Bangalore: The body of 20-year-old Soheb Michael Cherian — who drowned in Chunchi falls in Sathnur, Ramanagara, on Saturday evening — was brought back to the city and buried on Sunday evening.
Family and friends mourned the loss of the second-year B.Com student and son of Banaswadi resident Bijo Cherian, the advertising head of a television news network.
A picnic for four friends turned tragic when Soheb drowned in Chunchi falls near Kanakapura on Saturday evening. His body was fished out around 12.20 pm on Sunday, and sent to Rajarajeshwari hospital for the post-mortem, following which the last rites were performed.
The Sathnur police, who registered a case, said there were signboards placed near the falls warning people not to enter the water. “This is not the first such case. Several people have drowned in the falls despite knowing how to swim,” said the police.
