Ankola landslide: Navy starts search for Arjun in Gangavali river; strong currents halt diving operation

Kozhikode/ Shirur: The search for Kozhikode native Arjun who went missing in a landslide at Shirur in Karnataka's Ankola entered 12th day on Saturday. Around 7.30 am, navy personnel who are deployed for the rescue efforts ventured into the river in dinghy boats to launch a diving operation. But they were forced to call off the mission due to the strong currents.

Manorama News reported that the navy personnel will set up a floating platform in the river. The divers will be connected with this platform as strong currents in the river continue to pose a risk to the mission. The officials said that the river is flowing at a speed of 8 knots (roughly 13 km per hour) and diving is possible only when the water flow is decreased to 2 knots. Though rain has receded, water flow from Shirur hill that collapsed during the landslide is increasing the water flow in the river.

Meanwhile, Karwar MLA Satish Krishna Sail told media that dredging in the river is impossible in the present situation. A special team from Goa reached Shirur on Friday to examine the scope of dredging in the river to remove the mud.

Kerala asks centre to deploy more divers
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday requested Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to order the deployment of additional divers and advanced equipment like Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV) to search for the missing lorry driver Arjun.

More than 10 days have gone by since Arjun, hailing from Kerala, went missing in the landslide at Shirur village in Karnataka and his whereabouts are yet to be ascertained.

Pinarayi Vijayan, in a letter to Singh, sought the Defence Minister's urgent intervention in the rescue operations by providing additional help from the Indian Navy, which has expert personnel who can do deep diving and substantially help in the search for Arjun.

"I request your immediate personal intervention for deploying additional divers from various naval commands, including from southern and eastern, along with advanced equipment, like Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV), as this will help the rescue operations in a big way," the CM said.

Pinarayi Vijayan also told Singh that the Government of Kerala was constantly in touch with the Karnataka government for real time updates about rescue operations. He also wrote to his counterpart in Karnataka, Siddaramaiah, informing him about the assistance sought from the Centre.

"I have written a letter to the Union Minister of Defence, requesting his urgent personal intervention for providing additional divers and advanced equipment from the Indian Navy," he said in his letter to the Karnataka CM. He said that he felt that requesting additional teams of expert divers and advanced equipment from the Indian Navy "can help the rescue operations in a big way".

He also told Siddaramaiah that the Kerala government was in continuous contact with the District Administration, Shirur, to get updates regarding the ongoing search for Arjun.
(With PTI inputs)