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4 swept away while crossing bridge in Koppala
According to local residents, the women labourers were returning from work and were trying to cross the submerged bridge at Sankanur village in Yellaburagi of Koppala when the incident took place.
Four women died while crossing a bridge after heavy rains late on Saturday evening in Karnataka’s Koppala district, about 381km from Bengaluru, persons in the know of development said on Sunday.
According to local residents, the women labourers were returning from work and were trying to cross the submerged bridge at Sankanur village in Yellaburagi of Koppala when the incident took place.
“The women, along with others, had gone to work in the morning hours and returned by the evening. While returning, they thought that if they wait any longer, the water levels might increase. They held hands and tried to cross the bridge. Most of them managed to cross over but the four victims were swept away. We tried to save them but failed,” a villager in the know of the developments said.
The villagers also discussed the matter with Karnataka’s minister for mines and geology, women and child development, differently abled and senior citizens empowerment, Halappa Achar, when he visited the spot.
One of the villagers said, “Achar and his predecessor had promised to construct a bridge in the area and said that there was a budgetary allocation of ₹2 crore but the promises remained on paper”.
“The villagers attempted to rescue the victims but unfortunately they could not be saved. They cannot be brought back to life, but we will provide them compensation. The villagers requested that I should give my word that the bridge work will be completed soon. The proposal is already before the government and I will get it approved as soon as possible,” Achar said.
He added that the families of the victims will be paid compensation as per the norms under the state and national disaster relief. The deputy collector will verify bank details of the kin and transfer the compensation money at the earliest, he said.
