Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Aug 7: Kodagu district in-charge minister V Somanna, clarified that three days before the Brahmagiri hill at Tala Kaveri crashed, the district administration had visited the residence of chief priest there, Narayan Achar, and tried to shift him and his family to a safer place. He claimed that Achar remained stubborn about staying on.

Addressing a press meet at his residence at Govindaraja Nagar here on Thursday August 6, the minister said that the local MLA, deputy commissioner and superintendent of police had visited the house of priest multiple times and tried to convince him to shift his family elsewhere. "Even three days before, the deputy superintendent of police and panchayat development officer had urged him to relocate. But the priest was determined not to move from there," he explained.

Narayan Achar and his entire family have gone missing in the tragedy. As the area is full of rainwater and slush, even backhoe could not be pressed into service. Three national disaster management teams have rushed to the spot from Madikeri and another team will also follow. Search operation is continuing, he stated.

Somanna said he would be visiting Kodagu on Saturday and inspecting the conditions. He stated that elaborate preparations were made in advance, and floods have happened in certain areas as per expectations.