Holiday turns nightmare: Karnataka girl drowns in resort pool, owners told to pay Rs 10L for ‘gross negligence’; no lifeguard, no licence, no safety signs | Bengaluru News
BENGALURU: A family holiday turned into a nightmare for a Bengaluru couple after their 12-year-old daughter drowned in an unsupervised swimming pool at a resort in Hassan district. Holding the resort owners guilty of negligence and deficiency in service, the Bengaluru Urban II additional district consumer disputes redressal commission ordered payment of Rs 10 lakh as compensation, along with 6% interest, to the girl’s parents. The saga unfolded on May 28, 2023, when Dhanaraj, a software engineer, and his wife Veena, both residents of Doddakallasandra in the city, took their daughter Kushi (a class 6 student) for a weekend holiday to Dwarasamudra Resort near Belur in Hassan on a colleague’s recommendation. Veena’s sister Deepa and her children, Ricky Roy and Sara, also accompanied them. Two rooms were booked for Rs 15,000, with an advance of Rs 8,000 paid via UPI. The family checked into the resort around 1.15pm and went to the restaurant for lunch.While the couple was still at the restaurant, the children went to play near the swimming pool. The couple was unaware that the resort even had a pool and that it lacked supervision. It was only when their niece came running, wet and frightened, did they realise something had gone wrong at the pool. On rushing there, they found their nephew Ricky Roy drowning and their daughter Kushi lying unconscious in the pool.The couple alleged that there was no lifeguard, safety signage, or medical assistance at the swimming pool. The family took both children to the nearest hospital 10km away, where Kushi was declared dead. The boy survived. The incident was reported at Arehalli police station. The postmortem confirmed the cause of death as asphyxia due to drowning.The couple filed a consumer complaint on June 18, 2024, alleging that deficiency in service led to their daughter’s death. In defence, the resort’s proprietors, CR Vijaya Keshava and his son CV Apurva, claimed they were only tenants and not responsible for managing the facility. However, the commission, after perusing court records and civil suits filed by the proprietors themselves, found that they had constructed and operated the pool, and continued to manage the resort business under the name Dwarasamudra.No trade licenceThe commission bench, comprising judges Vijaykumar M Pawale and Anuradha V, observed that the resort was operating without a trade licence and had failed to produce even a written version of defence. All documents submitted by the complainants went unchallenged. The commission found the swimming pool was constructed in violation of sanctioned plans and without adherence to safety standards.It held that there was a clear deficiency in service on the part of the resort proprietors and that they had failed in their duty to provide a safe environment for guests, particularly children. The commission stated in its order: “The tragic incident could have been avoided if proper safety measures like a lifeguard, clear sign boards regarding depth, prohibition of entry without adult supervision, and basic medical facilities were provided. This clearly amounts to gross deficiency in service.” Accordingly, the commission directed the resort and its proprietors on July 3 to pay Rs 10 lakh with 6% interest from June 18, 2024, as compensation.
