Bengaluru, Ap 20: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has announced an ex-gratia of ₹5 lakh for the families of six individuals who drowned while swimming in the Cauvery River near Arkeswara Temple in K.R. Nagar, Mysuru.

Expressing his sorrow over the tragedy on Twitter, Siddaramaiah said, “It is heartbreaking to learn that six people drowned in the Cauvery River while going for a swim near the Arkeswara Temple in K.R. Nagar, Mysuru. A compensation of ₹5 lakh each will be provided to the families of the deceased.”

In a separate incident, miscreants allegedly vandalized a statue of Mahatma Gandhi overnight at Mahatma Gandhi Road in Haveri city. Haveri SP Yashoda Vantagodi and city police inspected the site and later took the two-foot-tall defaced statue to the police station. A case has been registered, and authorities are reviewing CCTV footage, although the camera at Gandhi Circle was reportedly not operational.

Earlier, on April 17, a tragic accident in Yadgiri claimed seven lives and left two children critically injured. According to the police, a car carrying a single family from Sirwar Taluk, Raichur, collided head-on with a VRL bus traveling from Bangalore to Gulbarga.

Adgiri SP Pruthvik Shankar stated, “The accident occurred between 9:30 and 9:45 AM in Yadgiri District, within Surpur Police Station limits. Out of nine passengers in the car, seven are dead, and two children are in critical condition at Yadgar Institute of Medical Sciences.”

Eyewitnesses reported that the car collided with the bus while overtaking a tractor. Authorities have taken complaints from the family and are continuing investigations.