Karnataka: Waves momentarily steal home minister's footwear, return it

UDUPI: Home minister Basavaraj Bommai had a first-hand experience of roughness of the Sea during monsoon at Padubidri near Udupi on Wednesday.
An impromptu decision to venture close to the crashing waves after inspecting the damage caused by the Sea at the old beach there left him minus one of his footwear as a huge wave took him by surprise and gave some anxious moments to superintendent of police N Vishnuvardhana and other officers.
Bommai, also Udupi district minister with retinue of officers, had descended on Padubidri as part of his visit to inspect the damage caused by the surging south-west monsoon. After a brief interaction with the media post the inspection, Bommai accompanied by Dinakar Babu, zilla panchayat president and K Udayakumar Shetty, Mangaluru division in-charge of BJP strolled out to the edge of the beach where the waves crash, taper off and return.
One such wave that crashed and returned just as he reached the beach edge took the footwear on his right leg just as Shetty and Bommai’s personal security officer rushed in and held his hand. Vishnuvardhana who was a few steps back too immediately went in and urged Bommai to come back. Bommai in the interim, firmly pressed his left leg down to prevent the footwear on that foot from being carried away by the waves that kept crashing down.
Shetty told TOI that another wave brought back the footwear that had momentarily slipped away from Bommai’s grasp and the minister, calm and composed despite the scare, came back ashore with both his footwear in place. The minister later continued with his district tour proceeding to Hebri where he heard people’s grievances and assured to set up a nemmadi centre, sanction funds for repair of the police station and set up a fire station. He later visited Kodi.