Telangana: Five drown in Kondapochamma Sagar reservoir in Siddipet

The Chief Minister, A. Revanth Reddy, has expressed his deep sorrow over the incident and has directed the authorities to intensify search operations.

In a tragic incident on Saturday, five youths lost their lives after drowning while swimming in the Kondapochamma Sagar Reservoir in Siddipet district, Telangana. The victims, identified as Dhanush (20), Lohith (17), Dineswar (17), Jatin (17), and Sahil (17), all residents of Hyderabad, had visited the reservoir for a leisurely trip. The group of seven, all friends from Hyderabad, ventured into the reservoir, and during their swim, five of them slipped into deep water and drowned. Fortunately, two others, Mrugank and MD Ibrahim, managed to survive the mishap.

However, the police said that the youths had reached the Konda Pochamma temple in the district and had used another route to arrive at the reservoir. Indeed, the reservoir is prohibited to outsiders, and this activity of the group breaches the rules. While two persons from the group were clicking photographs, the others had entered the water, where the tragedy occurred. It still works to recover the bodies of the dead.

The Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has expressed his deep sorrow over the incident and has directed the authorities to intensify search operations. He has also given a direction to deploy professional divers in the rescue for any missing persons.  In a statement on X, the CM conveyed his heartfelt condolences to the victims' families and instructed district officials to ensure proper relief measures are put in place. He added, "I pray to God to grant peace to the souls of the deceased."

BRS MLA T. Harish Rao also extended condolences on the sad event and called for preventive measures to avoid similar incidents in the future. He demanded Rs. 15 lakh as ex gratia for each of the tragedy victims. Monitoring the current situation and efforts are afoot to recover the bodies. 

This loss has emphasised the urgent need for safety regulations in public water bodies, and now residents want more vigilance and preventive measures to be taken to avoid future accidents.

(PTI inputs)