Kodagu youth feared dead after coracle capsizes at Kalkere Lake in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: A late night illegal coracle ride proved fatal for a Kodagu youth, who is feared to be dead after the coracle in which he, along with a friend, were rowing capsized at Kalkere Lake in the wee hours of Saturday. His friend managed to swim ashore.

The deceased youth is Kongepanda Sachin Machaiah (30), a resident of Electronics City. He used to work for a IT firm in Manyata Tech Park. He is a native of Hathur village near Gonikoppal in Kodagu. He is said to have got married just a year ago. His friend, who managed to save his life by swimming to the shore, is 32-year-old Ullas, Machaiah’s former colleague. He too is an IT professional and stays in the vicinity of the Lake.

The two had reportedly entered the Lake premises illegally around 2 am and had got into a coracle and were going around the Lake, when the coracle overturned. The two had come to the Lake after attending a party on Friday night. The Police have suspected that the two were under the influence of alcohol.

Ullas, who stays in the vicinity of the Lake, was aware that it has a coracle. The coracle is kept for cleaning the Lake and not for boating activity. The Lake is spread across nearly 180 acres and is around 15 ft. deep. There is a walking track that covers nearly 4.5-km around the Lake. No other activity, like swimming or boating, is allowed inside the Lake. The Lake, which is maintained by Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), has a round-the-clock security guard.

Around 2.30 am, Ullas is said to have called the civic authorities requesting for help. A team of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel, Fire and Emergency Services personnel and local swimmers were pressed into service.