Popular Front Day to be observed on Feb 17

Rescue personnel on Thursday, July 18, recovered two more bodies of people killed in the recent landslide at Shirur village in Ankola taluk of Uttara Kannada district.

With this, the rescuers have recovered the bodies of six persons, including four of a family.

On Thursday, the members of NDRF recovered the body of a six-year-old girl, Avanthika, near Gokarna, some eight km from the tragedy site.

The officials had sighted her body on Tuesday too but couldn't recover due to the overflowing Gangavali river and heavy rain. On Tuesday, the rescuers had recovered the bodies of her father, mother and brother.

The emergency service personnel also recovered the body of the driver of the gas tanker that was washed away in the river after the landslide. The body was recovered from one of the several islands created by the tonnes of mud that washed away into the river. The identity of the driver is yet to be ascertained.

Locals claim that at least three more persons are missing from the village and could be buried under the debris.

Bengaluru: Senior JD(S) MLA C B Suresh Babu is the party's leader in the Karnataka Assembly, Speaker U T Khader said on Monday.

The position fell vacant following JD(S) leader and Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy's election to the Lok Sabaha.

"JD(S) state President H D Kumaraswamy on July 14 has given a letter stating that Chikkanayakanahalli MLA C B Suresh Babu has been appointed as the JD(S) party leader (in the Assembly) and the same has to be recognised. Accordingly, Suresh Babu has been recognised as the JD(S) party leader," Khader told the House.

Kumaraswamy resigned as the MLA from Channapatna segment after his election to the Lok Sabha in the recent polls.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced on Wednesday that the state government will give ex gratia compensation of Rs 5 lakh each for those who have died in the landslide that occurred on Tuesday in Uttara Kannada's Ankola taluk.

Rescue officials on Tuesday had recovered bodies of four persons and a search is on to trace the missing persons from both under the debris of the landslide and in the Gangavali river. Seven members of two families were killed when a huge hill collapsed on their houses in Shirur village. 

In his post on X, the CM said, "In the landslide that occurred on the national highway near Shirur in Uttara Kannada district Ankola taluk, seven people are believed to have died due to mud and 4 dead bodies have already been recovered. This is a very unfortunate incident. I pray that the soul of the deceased may rest in eternal peace."

He further added, "For those who died in the incident, Rs. 5 lakh compensation has been announced. Despite the continuous rain, the rescue operation is continuing and the search is on for the remaining three."

The deceased have been identified as Lakshman Naik (47), his wife Shanthi (36) and son Roshan (11). The identity of the fourth body is yet to be ascertained.

Officials also sighted the body of a girl child in the river but could not retrieve it. The bodies were recovered in Gangavali River, at least six km from the accident area.