Kushalnagar:  Two students, who were part of a Scouts and Guides tour of a school, drowned in Cauvery River at Dubare Elephant Camp in Kodagu district yesterday.

The children who lost their lives were 14-year-old Kodengada Shreyas Chengappa of Kanoor village and 15-year-old Madira Lenin Bopanna of Hysodlur village, students of Lions School at Kalathmadu in Gonikoppal. While Shreyas was a ninth standard student, Lenin was in tenth standard.

The two were part of the Scouts and Guides team of the school comprising 39 students which was on a tour of the district. The students reached Dubare Elephant Camp located on the banks of River Cauvery. 

Shreyas and Lenin reportedly went far away from their group and entered the river near the Jungle Lodges where the water is very deep and turbulent. Both got gripped in the underwater current and lost their lives. The bodies were recovered with the help of personnel operating rafts at Dubare. Siddapur Police visited the spot, collected details, and registered a case. 

The parents of students have vented anger against the teacher who took the students for a picnic and questioned the need of conducting a picnic during the examination season.  Kodagu DDPI P.S. Machado stated that the school had not availed permission from the Education Department to conduct an excursion to Dubare. 

All schools in the district have been asked to focus on the examinations and prepare the students to score well and there was no necessity of the school to take students on picnic, the DDPI said and added that action will be initiated against the violators.