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Bay watch project buried
Five months have elapsed and not an inch had moved. People continue to drown at the beach at regular intervals.
​ Visakhapatnam: Death of five people including three students in May midweek this year stirred the State government, and HRD Minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao immediately convened a meeting of marine police, coast guard and Navy and it was decided to launch a project worth Rs 2.5 crore in the first phase for building watch towers fitted with public address system, CCTVs so that the persons watching would alert the people on the dangers of swimming in the sea.
It was also planned to acquire few All Terrain Vehicles as part of the project which can move on the beach from one end to the other warning people on the shore. Rip boats and inflated high speed boats with life saving equipment were also suggested for prowling in the waters to save people from drowning.
The Minister suggested bill boards with warnings inscribed in Teulgu, Odiya, Hindi and English would be set up all along the beach.
Former IG of Marine Police K Surya Rao then said he would suggest the government to install floating walls with nets at R K Beach and Rushikonda to prevent drowning and dragging into deep waters by the rip currents.
Five months have elapsed and not an inch had moved. People continue to drown at the beach at regular intervals.
“The project is still in the initial stage. Locations are being identified for setting up of tower and works would begin at end of this year,” said a senior officer of Marine Police, which has been entrusted with the task of preventing deaths in the sea.
On the other hand, the strength of community guards (life guards) is not sufficient to save the beach tourists who flock in large numbers during weekends and vacations. Over 20,000 visit RK Beach during peak season and weekends.
Though the GVMC with the support of city police have appointed six each community guards at RK Beach, Rushikonda and Yarada, the drowning deaths continue.
Earlier, former commissioner of police K Sivadhar Reddy deployed over 20 home-guards as community guards (expert in swimming) to check the drowning deaths and all of them were drafted to other duties now.
A few tourists from West Bengal who were witness to the Friday drowning said their hotel management never warned them about the danger involved in swimming in the sea.
According to police records, 460 drowning deaths were reported in the last 10 years. Of them 391 were males and 69 females. About 55 per cent were in the age group of 15 to 30 years.
