Daijiworld Media Network - Tumakuru (SP)

Tumakuru, Mar 22: A three-month-old baby from Jampenahalli in Koratagere taluk in Tumakuru district, lost its life at the sound of a huge blast that was set off close by.

Work across River Suvarnamukhi in Jampenahalli is in pogress as part of the Yettinahole project. On Saturday night, without giving any advance information, a huge boulder that was blocking the pipeline was detonated. The villagers were taken aback at the huge sound, and the said female baby of a dalit couple, Raganath and Netravathi from Kaimara village in Agrahara gram panchayat, shuddered by the sound and lost its life instantly, it is said. The family lives just 50 metres away from the said blast site.

The couple used to eke out a living by undertaking door to door sale of clips, pins, etc. They also work as coolies. They performed the funeral near the main drain of river Suvarnakukhi. At that time, Shivalingaiah, security guard of nearby Shahi Garments, got he body of the child removed from there, saying that the land belongs to the company. Later, the couple performed the burial in the middle of the river.

The couple said that the guard, even after pleading to allow the child's body to remain where it was buried, insisted that we were not permitted to perform the funeral of the baby there. "He made us to dig out the child's body which died due to the blast," they stated. They lamented the fact that no one respected their feelings.

Tahsildar, Govindaraj, as soon as he got to know of the incident, ordered a survey and promised to take suitable steps against the guilty.