An outing by a group of five friends from Mumbai ended in tragedy after one of them drowned in the Pavana dam in the early hours of Sunday, said Lonavla rural police.
The deceased has been identified as Prem Prakash Roshanlal Bhatiya (62), resident of Nehru Nagar, Kurla east area of Mumbai city. According to police he was a professor at Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research.
According to a complaint filed by Pradipkumar Krushnakumar Ramanan who is deputy chairman of the Welingkar Institute Thane West, a group of five friends visited Lonavla over the weekend. They arrived on Saturday and stayed at their friend’s house in Lake View Society in Dudhiware area in Maval.
On Sunday at around 11:00 am they entered Pavana dam water at the backside of the bungalow for swimming. Bhatiya went inside the water and was tired. He drowned while trying to return to the shore, said police officials.
His friends began shouting for help and immediately brought a bamboo from their bungalow and ventured in water to save Bhatiya but their efforts did not yield results.
{{/usCountry}}His friends began shouting for help and immediately brought a bamboo from their bungalow and ventured in water to save Bhatiya but their efforts did not yield results.
{{/usCountry}}Police officers from Lonavla police station said that his friends tried to save him but because of the depth of the water and mud he was drowned to death.
Ramanan and his friend called police for further help. Police along with the local rescue team initiated a search operation and recovered his body at around 12:30 pm.
A case of accidental death has been registered at Lonavla rural police station and further investigation is underway
Despite repeated warnings after a number of deaths in the locality, many picnic goers often turn a blind eye to the risk involved in entering into the water. Some have lost their lives due to the same reason.
Dams in the area fill-up after the onset of monsoon attracting number of tourists from Mumbai and Pune. The administration has erected warning signboards to discourage enthusiastic tourists from venturing into the water.