Udupi: Schoolgirl washed away in swollen stream as she slips from wooden footbridge

Udupi: Schoolgirl washed away in swollen stream as she slips from wooden footbridge

Mangalore Today News Network

Udupi, Aug 09, 2022: An eight-year-old girl studying in Class II fell into a swollen stream while crossing a wooden footbridge on her way back home from school and was washed away in Kalthodu village of Byndoor taluk, Udupi district, in the evening on Monday.

 

 

 

Officials gave the name of the girl as Sannidhi, daughter of Pradeep and Sumithra Poojari, residents of Makkimane, Bolamballi in Kalthodu. She was a student of Government Higher Primary School in nearby Chapparike. Government agencies have mounted search operations for the missing girl.

Byndoor Tahsildar (in-charge) Kiran Gowraiah told The Hindu that the distance between the school and the victim’s residence was hardly 2 km. Since it was a hilly terrain and did not have pucca road connectivity, the girl, along with others, used to attend school on foot through kutcha lanes crossing the stream on the makeshift footbridge.

While one senior member of the family used to accompany her to and fro from school, none accompanied Sannidhi after school hours on Monday. A mid-day meal worker of the school accompanied a few schoolchildren, including Sannidhi. Though the worker was holding Sannidhi’s hand, the girl fell into the stream as the wooden logs had become slippery due to rain, Mr. Gowraiah said.

Mr. Pradeep’s undivided family owns five acres of land and it falls in the below poverty line category, the administration said.

Soon after hearing the incident, Mr. Gowraiah and Byndoor Police Sub-Inspector Pavan Kumar rushed to the spot along with other personnel for the rescue operations.

Later, Byndoor MLA B.M. Sukumara Shetty and other officials visited the residence of Sannidhi and consoled the family members. The girl has a four-year-old younger sister, Shreenidhi.

Mr. Gowraiah, quoting the MLA as saying, said that though the government has sanctioned the construction of a concrete footbridge at the location, execution has been delayed due to rain since May this year.

Courtesy: The Hindu