A 42-year-old man drowned in an irrigation tank near Mangammapettai village near Arakkonam in Ranipet on Sunday.
Police said the victim A. Salahuddin, who knows swimming, went fishing in the irrigation tank around 5.30 a.m. After a long time, he did not return home. Along with neighbours, family members searched him in the village and found his dress on the bund of the tank, which is around 25 feet deep.
Immediately, they alerted Arakkonam Town police and firemen. After more than two hours of search, the firemen could not locate him. At around 11 a.m, a few dairy farmers, who took their cattle to the tank, found the body. They alerted the police, who shifted the body to Government Taluk Hospital in Arakkonam.
Initial inquiry revealed the tank was auctioned for fishing by the PWD for many years before they stopped when bidders from two villages clashed with each other for fishing in the tank a few years ago. Since then, the PWD does not auction the tank for fishing. However, due to growth of fish in the tank, many residents try to catch fish in the tank especially during holidays to supplement their income, police said.
