Six of a family, including two kids, swept away as dam gates automatically open in Mandya; 3 bodies recovered

The incident took place at Markonahalli dam. Police said whenever the dam is filled to capacity, sluice gates open automatically without the need for human intervention

By: Express News Service

Bengaluru | Updated: October 8, 2025 05:59 PM IST

2 min read

Markonahalli dam, a popular weekend getaway place for Bengaluru residents, was built in the 1930s. (Screengrab from video)

A picnic ended in tragedy for a family from Karnataka’s Mandya district as six of its members, including two children under five, were swept away after the sluice gates of Markonahalli dam automatically opened on Tuesday afternoon.
While one person was rescued, search operations continued for four missing persons on Wednesday.

Bodies of three persons – Tabassum (45), Sajiya (32) and Arbin (30) – have been recovered while rescue teams are still searching for Shabana (44), four-year-old Mifra, and year-old Mahib.
Nawaz, who was also caught in the currents, was rescued and hospitalised. Two others were injured in the incident.

Superintendent of Police Ashok KV said that the incident had taken place around 3pm.

According to a police officer, with Tuesday being a government holiday on account of Valmiki Jayanti, 15 members of a family from BG Palya in Tumakuru had come down to visit their relatives in Magadipalya village. After lunch, they went on a picnic to the dam site, the officer added.

Markonahalli dam, a popular picnic spot for residents of Bengaluru and surrounding areas, was built in the 1930s under the supervision of renowned civil engineer Sir M Visvesvaraya. With water from Gorur dam flowing towards it, Marconahalli works on siphoning effect resulting in sluice gates opening automatically whenever filled to capacity. No siren or caution had been sounded off in the past in such cases, a police officer said.

The officer said that whenever Marconahalli dam fills to capacity, the sluice gates automatically open without any human intervention. “”Whenever the dam fills, the sluice gates automatically open and there is no human intervention. There needs to be some fencing to prevent the public from venturing into the waters. Merely deploying police would not solve the problem,” the officer added.

Few minutes before the incident, the family members had shot videos and photos in which some of them could be seen playing in the river water.

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