Daijiworld Media Network - Madikeri (SP)
Madikeri, Aug 24: Even after putting in a lot of effort, the rescue teams have not been able to find the two missing bodies. In the meantime, the region has been receiving heavy rains as a result of which the work was stopped on Saturday.
In the past too, there had been instances in which compensation was disbursed to the families as a special case even though the bodies were not recovered, considering them as special cases.
During the huge landslide of Gajagiri Hill on August 6, the family of Narayan Achar including his vehicles, house and property were buried. In the rescue operation, the body of Narayan Achar's brother, Swamy Anandateertha, was found on August 8. The mortal remains of Narayan Achar were found on August 11 and that of assistant priest Ravikiran, on August 15. So far, no clues whatsoever are available about the bodies of Narayan Achar's wife Shantha Achar, and of assistant priest Srinivas Paddilaya.
The rescue teams which had to contend with slush, leeches, rain and fog and searched for a distance of eight km but failed to make any headway. Deputy commissioner of Kodagu, Annies Kanmani Joy, said that the tahsildar and superintendent of police have been asked to prepare a report on this issue and that this will be treated as special case as in the past, and compensation would be disbursed. The family sources said that they have treated the missing members as having died and post funeral rites have been already performed.