In a tragic incident in Haveri town, Karnataka, a 12-year-old boy named Nivedhan died after being swept away by floodwaters on Wednesday. The boy, son of Basavaraj Gudageri, was returning home from private tuition when he unknowingly stepped into an overflowing gutter. Heavy rainfall in the area, which had been ongoing for over a week, led to severe flooding, particularly near the superintendent of police’s office. Nivedhan was caught in the strong current and later succumbed to his injuries at a government hospital on Thursday.
Haveri’s district in-charge minister, Shivanand Patil, ordered the suspension of the town’s municipality commissioner, Parushram Chalavadi, and health inspector, Ramesh Munjaji, citing their failure to enforce pre-monsoon drainage maintenance, which might have prevented the flooding that led to the boy’s death. Deputy commissioner Vijay Mahantesh highlighted that blocked drains were responsible for the road flooding near Nivedhan’s home.
Nivedhan’s father, Basavaraj, expressed deep sorrow over the incident, noting that he usually escorted his son but was unable to do so on that particular day. A local resident, Kallappa Kadolkar, criticized the town’s poor drainage system, stating that better maintenance could have prevented the tragedy.
In a separate event, 17 elderly residents of the Shakti Old Age Centre were evacuated by the police after floodwaters submerged their facility. They were moved to a safer rehabilitation center to ensure their safety.
