Mysuru: Tourist and visitor entry to the famed Krishna Raja Sagar (KRS) dam has been banned today and tomorrow following the tragic death of three tourists, who were killed when a giant tree came crashing down on them at the Brindavan Gardens of the dam. The entry has been banned as the authorities have to clear more than 50 trees and branches that had crashed.
Heavy rain and high-velocity winds uprooted several trees last evening and the tourists were running helter-skelter to escape the showers. This is for the first time such an incident occurred in the KRS where three tourists died due to tree fall.
The incident occurred between the musical fountain and the boating pond area at 7.15 pm just about when the musical dancing fountain show was about to begin.
The victims have been identified as 35-year-old Vinod, Hilara and Rajashekhar. While Hilara and Vinod are from Kerala, Rajashekhar is from Tamil Nadu.
Initially, the rain that started as a drizzle picked up pace and it was a storm-like atmosphere. Running away from the musical fountain, the trio had taken shelter under a tree.
The rain and wind intensified and the tree under which the tourists were standing uprooted. Due to the impact, Vinod and Hilara died on the spot, while Rajashekhar died on the way to the hospital.
But officials at the KRS said that only one death occurred inside the dam premises while two died on the way to the hospital. Ten tourists who were also running were injured as the tree crashed on them.
According to tourists, the show had just begun when it started to rain. In no time, the heavy wind started to blow. While some among the tourists started to run helter-skelter, some took shelter under a shelter attached to a toilet. However, trees fell on about 10 leaving them severely injured.
Rajashekar’s two children — Sashika, aged 10 years and four-year-old son — who suffered head injuries were admitted to a private hospital in city. They were, however, discharged from the hospital as they had to take Rajashekar’s body home for cremation.
KRS PLUNGES INTO DARKNESS
Officials from Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Limited, Police and Forest Department said that over 15 vehicles were damaged as over 50 trees fell on them. Yesterday was a public holiday on account of May Day and as such over 9,000 tourists had come to KRS.
As night fell and the rain eased, officials had a tough time in clearing the trees and branches that had scattered on the road. Long traffic jams were witnessed both inside and outside the KRS and to make matters worse, the entire KRS Dam was plunged into darkness as power lines were snapped off as trees fell.
The signboards that were blown off due to high velocity wind at KRS yesterday.
Officials made alternative arrangements for the tourists whose vehicles were badly damaged. Local buses and tempo travellers were booked for them to reach home.
ELECTRIC POLE FALLS ON BUS
Over 80 passengers travelling in a KSRTC bus had a miraculous escape after an electricity pole fell on the vehicle on Holalu Road near Mandya last night. A major tragedy was averted since there was no power supply.
A huge tree fell on an electric cable bringing down 38 electricity poles following high-velocity winds. An electricity pole slowly leaned on the bus even as it entered Holalu Road. The passengers screamed fearing that they would suffer electric shock but heaved a sigh of relief after coming to know that there was no power supply. They later took private vans and autos to reach their destination.
BIRDS DIE
Over 300 birds have died at KRS yesterday due to gusty wind and tree fall. Speaking to Star of Mysore this morning, Dr. Ajay Kumar Jain of Pragathi Prathistana said that hundreds of birds were injured and efforts were on to rescue them. The injured birds will be given first aid and will be taken to PFA (People For Animals) shelters for further treatment and rehabilitation. So far 64 birds have been rescued.
MASSIVE CLEARING OPERATION
A day after the tragedy, officials from the Cauvery Neeravari Nigam, Police and Forest Department initiated a massive clearing operation at the Dam site this morning where trees and branches are lying on the pathway. As the tourist entry into the dam will hamper cleaning operations, the entry of visitors has been banned till tomorrow, officials said.
Dead and weak trees will be felled in the operation and dry branches close to human activity area will be pruned, they added.
This post was published on May 2, 2018 6:45 pm