A tourist from Kerala went missing inside a forest in Karnataka’s Kodagu district earlier this week during a trek in the Tadiandamol hills there. A major search operation, involving drones, has been initiated to locate the woman.
GS Sharanya, a 36-year-old IT professional, was on a solo trip and stayed at a private homestay in Kakkabe village, according to news agency PTI.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday wrote to his Karnataka counterpart, Siddaramaiah, urging him to personally intervene to strengthen the search efforts.
Noting that Sharanya has been missing since Thursday, April 2, he also expressed the Kerala government’s “anxiety” about the development.
“It is understood that a search is being conducted to trace her. I request your kind personal intervention in the matter,” Vijayan said in his letter addressed to Siddaramaiah.
The Kerala CM added, “Directions may be issued to augment the strength of the search teams so that Saranya is traced at the earliest and brought home safely (sic).”
Meanwhile, Karnataka Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre said additional personnel and drones have been pressed into action to track the missing woman.
He said that CM Siddaramaiah expressed concern about Sharanya’s disappearance and instructed that the search operations be intensified, per PTI.
News reports suggest that Sharanya originally sought permission from local forest authorities to trek the Tadiandamol hills alone.
However, the forest personnel reportedly dismissed the request and asked her to join a group of other trekkers due to the threat posed by wild elephants in the area.
Reports say that while Sharanya did join those trekkers, she was found to be missing when they returned to the foothills in the evening after exploring the trail.
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(With inputs from PTI)
