CHENNAI: Two students drowned in separate incidents while bathing in the Cauvery river during Aadi Perukku celebrations in Dharmapuri and Namakkal districts on Monday. 

The deceased were identified as D Sanjay (19), a second-year college student from Ramakondahalli village in Dharmapuri district, and Deepan (17) from Sathya Nagar near Mallasamudram in Namakkal district.

Sanjay had gone to the Cauvery river near Nagamarai with his friends and drowned while bathing.  In a separate incident, Deepan, who had recently completed Class XII, drowned while bathing in the Cauvery at Kokkarayanpettai in Namakkal district.

Police have registered cases in connection with both incidents, and further investigations are under way.

Meanwhile, traditional Aadi Perukku celebrations at Hogenakkal in Dharmapuri district and Mettur in Salem district were subdued this year due to reduced flow in the Cauvery river. Officials said water released from Karnataka's Kabini reservoir was expected to reach Biligundlu, the entry point of the Cauvery into Tamil Nadu, on Monday night and subsequently reach the Mettur reservoir on Tuesday.

"The combined discharge from the Kabini and Krishna Raja Sagar (KRS) reservoirs in Karnataka continues to be around 27,000 cusecs. The released water is expected to reach Mettur on Tuesday," a Water Resources Department official in Mettur said.