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Alarming rise in drowning deaths
All the nine beaches across the city coast are not at all safe for bathing. With very strong and narrow currents flowing in the blue waters of Bay of Bengal, many drowning deaths have been reported in recent times. The National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) is cautioning the people not to move inside the waters as the rip currents are very hazardous.
Visakhapatnam: All the nine beaches across the city coast are not at all safe for bathing. With very strong and narrow currents flowing in the blue waters of Bay of Bengal, many drowning deaths have been reported in recent times. The National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) is cautioning the people not to move inside the waters as the rip currents are very hazardous.
At an average 50 persons drowned every year during the past one decade in the Vizag beaches. However, excepting some measures as an eye wash, the major stakeholders, including district administration, GVMC and VUDA, are not taking any steps to prevent the drowning deaths in Visakhapatnam. Out of the 510 drowning deaths during the past 10 years, majority of the victims turned out to be students.
After every such incident, the Ministers and officials concerned make announcements with great fanfare about the appointment of more Coast Guards and expert swimmers by setting up of sign boards, but no action is taken. Two years ago, HRD Minister Ganta Srinviasa Rao set-up a committee to shoulder the responsibility to marine police to take all the steps.
Floating walls, watch towers with public address system were planned but never took off so far. Surprisingly, the committee did not meet for the second time during in the past two years. The second largest city in the state, Visakhapatnam is blessed with beautiful nine sand beaches.
According to sources, a minimum of 20,000 visitors are coming to any one of the nine beaches located across the city coast.
With the presence of higher education institutions in the city, a large number of students keep coming to the beach for bathing. Not aware about the dangers posed by the Vizag blue waters, which are very hazardous and life threatening, the students move into the waters.
Though the GVMC has appointed 15 community guards, including six life-safety guards at the RK Beach, Rushikonda and Yarada Beaches, deaths due to drowning are constantly on the rise.
The district administration, VUDA, GVMC and the police, on several occasions, stressed on the need for appointing more number of community guards and expert swimmers. However, the stakeholders are not coming forward to take up preventive measures on the beaches.
"As a civic body, we have already appointed some community guards. In the present financial scenario, the GVMC is not fully equipped to take up extra financial burden. Let the other stakeholders take up additional preventive measures bearing some costs," a senior official of GVMC said while speaking to The Hans India here on Sunday.
By VKL Gayatri
