Youth washed away in Belagavi; CM declares Rs 5L for flood fatalities

Belagavi, 04 Jun 2018 [Fik/News Sources]: Karnataka has seen plenty of rainfall over the past few days, some cities even facing terrible flooding. While Mangaluru witnessed one of the worst floodings in its history, Bengaluru has been warned of possible flooding in the coming hours.

For one 25-year-old Belagavi man, all the warnings will no longer do any good as he was swept away in a flooded drain after the heavy rains on Saturday, June 2, near the Bhootaramanahatti village, around 17km from Belagavi.

What is more horrific is that the youth could have been saved but, the passers by allegedly chose to capture his last moments on their phones instead of trying to save him.

Imran Nadaf, a native of the Kotabagi village in the Hukkeri taluk, and his brother Amir, were on their way back home from Belagavi on a bike when rain started to pour. The two took shelter under a nearby tree along the Pune-Bengaluru highway, that happened to be near the fatal drain. According to eyewitnesses, the drain flooded all of a sudden owing to water pouring in from a nearby drain. The hapless Imran was swept away despite his brother's desperate attempts to save him. Amir begged passersby to help him but they were otherwise occupied, allegedly recording the events taking place before them.

The body of Imran Nadaf, a native of the Kotabagi village in the Hukkeri taluk, was later retrieved by the police with the help of trained swimmers.

The Kakati police have registered a case.

CM HDK announced Rs 5 lakh compensation for flood fatalities

Chief minister H D Kumaraswamy, has announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the families who have lost loved ones in floods across the state.

The CM has also asked for periodical reports, once every two to three hours, from the various districts in order to monitor the situation. Every district facing a rain-related issue has a task force lead by the Deputy Commissioner of the region and they are preparing reports of loss and damage to both public and private properties, informed M Lakshminarayana, additional chief secretary to the CM.