Mangaluru woman, waiting for repatriation, passes away in Saudi Arabia

Udupi, Apr 12: A family’s visit to a resort to enjoy Eid-ul-Fitr holidays turned tragic as a 10-year-old boy drowned in the swimming pool at Hengavalli in Kundapur taluk of Udupi district on Thursday. 

The deceased has been identified as Mohammed Azeez, a Class 4 student at Darussalam English Medium School in Hoode.

Azeez was, who had gone to the resort along with his parents, was playing in the pool when he lost balance and drowned. Even though he was rescued, he was in a critical condition and later breathed his last. 

The family members have accused the negligence of the resort management as the reason for Azeez's death. They said that the incident occurred due to the absence of safety equipment like life jackets and the lack of lifeguards near the swimming pool.

A case has been registered at Shankaranarayana police station and investigations are underway. 

In a gut-wrenching tragedy, three high school boys drowned in the Tunga River in Tirthahalli town in Shivamogga district on April 1 evening.

Ayan, Samar, and Rafan, all aged around 16 years, had been to the Tunga River at Rama Mantap in the town after breaking the Ramadan fast (iftar) in the evening. 

All three were Class 10 students of a local high school and close friends.

Around 8 p.m., Tirthahalli police received information that the boys drowned.

With the help of local people, the bodies were retrieved from the river around 11 p.m. Hundreds of people gathered at the river bank. The bodies have been shifted to the government hospital in the town.

Tirthahalli Police have registered an unnatural death report.

Udupi, Apr 3: K Jayaprakash Hegde, who recently rejoined Congress nearly a decade after his expulsion from the grand-old party, filed his nomination as Congress candidate in Udupi-Chikmagalur segment today.

He was accompanied by former ministers Motamma, Vinay Kumar Sorake among others when he filed his nomination papers at the Udupi deputy commissioner’s office. 

Addressing the party workers, Hegde, who had earlier served as the Udupi-Chikkamagaluru MP, said that he had initiated multiple development works in both Udupi and Chikkamagaluru districts within 20 months.

“I seek this opportunity to fulfil the pending projects which were initiated during my previous term. Both districts face distinct challenges, with issues ranging from coffee and areca-nut cultivation in Chikkamagaluru to coastal tourism, fishermen's concerns, education, and health in Udupi. Strengthening the guarantee schemes is crucial, and we must promote and publicize them,” he said

“Had the central government created 2 crore jobs, we would witness the creation of 20 crore jobs today,” he said.

Hegde, who had joined BJP in 2017, was until recently the Chairman of Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes that submitted the much-awaited Socio-Economic and Education Survey report, popularly known as the 'caste census' to the government.