A medical college student who went bathing with his friends in a river in Valparai was swept away and has not been found even after five days.
Coimbatore: Ganesan, a retired Sub-Inspector of Police from West Mambalam, Chennai had admitted his son, Sriram at a private medical college in Coimbatore about a few years ago.
His son who was studying in the fourth year of medicine had taken a weekend break to visit Valparai with four of his friends on August 30. With the Sholayar Dam overflowing, water flow increased into the Parambikulam Dam via the Sedal Dam. There is also a waterfall near the river. Sriram and his four friends toured the Sholayar Dam area and decided to bathe in the Sedal Dam nearby and play in the waterfalls.
It is reported that they were enjoying themselves by clicking photos and shooting videos in the water. Suddenly, Sriram was swept away while bathing and though his friends tried to save him, their combined efforts were in vain. The friends immediately informed Valparai police.
Sheikalmudi police, fire department and forest department officials who arrived at the scene began searching for Sriram's body. They had to give up the search since it was late that night. Early next morning, the search continued. Since the water from the dam flows into the dense forest of Parambikulam Dam, the search was intensified with two divisions of the rescue force and yet Shriram has not been found in spite of five days having passed since the tragic mishap.
Due to heavy rains in Valparai, the water level of the Sholayar Dam has been increasing, resulting in an overflow into the Sedal Dam area. The Valparai Manampalli Forest Department has now engaged a drone in the search opeartions to scour if Shriram's body was swept to the shore.
Expert divers from the state of Kerala are engaged in the search operation at Sedal Dam and also a private company called InterDrive is part of the search operation. Sriram's parents and friends have been overwhelmed with deep grief since his body has not been found even after five days. Locals have been saddened by the incident.