Kozhikode/ Shirur: The search for Kozhikode native Arjun, who went missing in the massive landslide in Shirur of Karnataka's Ankola, resumed on Wednesday morning. Underwater search expert Eshwar Malpe failed to find any major part of Arjun's truck even after diving into the deep waters seven times, Manorama News reported. Apart from Malpe, divers of the Indian Navy undertook diving operations at two locations of Gangavali river as requested by the state government. Some metal objects of a vehicle were recovered by the navy's divers. But these parts do not belong to Arjun's truck. Besides this, tree branches, rocks and pieces of the electric line demolished during the landslide were found in the riverbed. A rope whick was used to tie the timber in Arjun's truck was also recovered.
Karwar MLA Satish Krishna Sail told Manorama News that the government has decided to bring an advanced dredging machine from Goa to remove the mud accumulated in the river. He said that the Goa port minister has agreed to release the machine for the search. The dredger is expected to reach the location by Monday.
As a hill collapsed into the river during the landslide, a pile of deposited mud should be removed to trace the truck. According to reports, the search personnel will temporarily halt the mission on Wednesday evening. The mission will resume only on Friday as Thursday is Independence Day.
At first, a team of Karnataka State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) started the search in Gangavali river on Wednesday morning. Later, Eshwar Malpe joined the mission around 10 am. Only Malpe and his two team members dived into the deep waters to trace the truck. NDRF and navy personnel also ventured into the river to assist Malpe. Though Malpe recovered a metal object similar to the lock of a truck during the search, Manaf, owner of the truck in which Arjun was behind the wheels confirmed that it does not belong to his vehicle.
On Tuesday evening, Eshwar Malpe had searched the riverbed and recovered a hydraulic jack and some parts of a vehicle. Hence, the search will be focused on this spot. He confirmed that the presence of diesel was confirmed in the riverbed.
Meanwhile, the district authority has come under fire for delaying the search even after the weather conditions and currents on the river turned favourable for on Wednesday. The undercurrents in the river which was 8 knots decreased to 2 knots on Tuesday. Malpe told the media that he would search in the riverbed on the spots where the parts of a vehicle were detected. The search is being delayed as police have directed him to wait until the district collector reaches the spot. As the district collector didn't reach, Malpe ventured into the river around 10 am. Manjeshwar MLA AKM Ashraf criticised the collector for delaying the mission. Police have imposed restrictions on allowing people including media at the banks of Gangavali river citing security reasons. Huge barricades are placed in the area.
Arjun, a truck driver disappeared from a riverbank in Shirur following a massive landslide on July 16. Even after a 13-day-long search in land and water, there is no clue about Arjun. It is suspected that Arjun is trapped inside the truck that got buried under the mud accumulated on the river following the landslide. Meanwhile, Dakshina Kannada district authority confirmed that no human presence was detected in the riverbed during the search using various devices.
