Parents of drowned interns seek compensation

Mandya: The tragedy of deaths due to drowning of three out of five residential interns of Mandya Institute of Medical Sciences (MIMS), while taking selfies in the waters of the Visvesvaraya Canal on February 12, has taken a yet another grim turn. The parents of two of the three dead are asking the institute or the state government to pay them a compensation on humanitarian grounds.

The names of the two whose are parents are seeking a compensation are:Jeevan, L.P. Shruthi of Bengaluru and Girish of Tumakuru. They along with a third Girish of Tumakuru drowned in the canal near Huliwana in Keregodu police station limits.

"The State government or the MIMS should compensate us as we are from economically poor section of society," Guruprakash, father of Shruthi, said. Speaking to press persons here on Friday, he said that he sells clothes to make a living.

Jeevan's parents A. Chandrakanthaa and S. Jayaram have also requested for a compensation pleading that they had also had difficulty paying medical bills and maintaining their family.

The interns had been washed away in the canal waters when the craze for taking selfies made five of them step into the waters,despite warnings from locals. While two Jeevan and Shruthi residents of Bengaluru died of drowning, the third Girish of Tumakuru is also feared drowned though his body has yet to be recovered. The other two of the five who entered the waters, Gowtham Patel and Sindu were saved by the local residents. Both are being treated at MIMS hospital . These two are residents of Vijayanagar and Mysuru. All of them ranging in the age group of 21-23.

In order to ease search operations, the flow of canal water was regulated, and vents in the upper region closed. Police personnel and firemen are involved with the search. of the five, three were MIMS hostellers. It is believed that the five were caught unawares by the force of the water draft which washed them away.

Residents of the nearby Village Hullivana got together at the banks of the canal and the police had difficult time controlling the unruly crowd.The tragedy occurred between 6 p.m. and 6.30 p.m. according to H.P. Manche Gowda, District Health Officer.

The five had been deployed for their internship with rural service and training under the community health service program me on Thursday, a day before the tragic incident occurred. All the five met with an irony of fate while returning from Keragodu, where they had attended a send off function for Administrative Officer,Primary Health Centre, Dr Doreswamy, who had been transferred.