Shirur landslip: Naval divers’ help sought to speed up missing Keralite Arjun’s rescue mission

Kerala ministers seek Navy divers' help in search for missing truck driver in Karnataka, ensuring efficient rescue operation.

Minister for Public Works and Tourism P. A. Mohammed Riyas who reached Karnataka’s Shirur along with Forest Minister A.K. Saseendran to hold talks with the Karnataka authorities associated with the rescue of missing truck driver Arjun on Saturday informed that the State government sought the intervention of highly experienced Navy divers to speed up the ongoing search operation in the Gangavali river.

Addressing reporters at Shirur in the morning, Mr. Riyas said the Kerala government insisted on deploying an expert team of rescue operators from Rajasthan apart from exploring the service of an eight-member local fishers’ team in the mission. “We have appealed to the Karnataka government to implement all the decisions taken at the recent rounds of joint review meetings as such to ensure a flawless rescue mission,” he added.

Mr. Riyas also said arrangements were in place to facilitate the visit of Arjun’s three family members to visit the site and understand the local situation. He said the family members would be issued three special passes by the Karnataka authorities to facilitate the visit at the earliest.

“We have already held discussions with the Naval authorities and the Karnataka government authorities to check the possibility of sourcing all the available services to find the missing person. There may be expert divers in prominent Naval bases who can help us in this situation,” said Mr. Riyas. He also hoped that the rescue mission could be completed successfully as a team.

Speaking to reporters, Mr. Saseendran clarified that the State Ministers visited the spot only to communicate the State’s demands with the Karnataka government after understanding the concerns of Arjun’s family. “There will not be any administrative interference on our part. The Kerala Chief Minister has also written to the Prime Minister and the Karnataka Chief Minister to avail all possible technical support to complete the rescue mission,” he added.

It was on July 16 that the Kannadikkal native went missing along with his truck in a landslide near Ankola in Uttara Kannada. As the rescue mission entered the 12th day on Saturday, there were criticisms from various quarters that the presence of more experts’ team in search and recovery was missing. Mr. Riyas and Mr. Saseendran reached the spot on Friday following an instruction of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.