None of the 34 lifeguards hired by Mumbai Fire Brigade on contract has been trained by an agency,an RTI query has revealed. The application was filed by activist Bhagwanji Raiyani who had,through NGO Janhit Manch,also filed a PIL in Bombay High Court (HC) seeking enhanced security on Mumbai beaches after a spate of deaths by drowning during 2008-09. Raiyani asked how many fire brigade personnel had undergone beach lifeguard training,if any fire brigade officer was a certified trainer,how many lifeguards had the fire brigade employed and were these lifeguards trained. In a reply dated May 13,assistant divisional fire officer S D Sawant said 64 members of its flood rescue team 23 officers and 41 firemen were trained at National Institute of Water Sports in Goa but none was certified to train beach lifeguards. He said the fire brigade had employed 34 beach lifeguards on contract but no any (sic) agency has provided the contract lifeguards training. This means they (fire brigade) have done nothing, said Janhit Manch lawyer Jamshed Mistry. Deputy chief fire officer P S Rahangdale,however,said a 15-day training programme was conducted by a private agency two years ago when the contract lifeguards were inducted. He also cited the criteria for selection age under 30 and a test that included 100 metres and 200 metres swimming in a pool,100 metres in sea and 100 metres running on shore to claim the lifeguards were ready. Rahangdale said there would be another round of recruitment for lifeguards in the next ten days. Last year,Janhit Manch,citing a newspaper report,had told HC there were 59 deaths by drowning in the preceding five years in the city. This year,five deaths have been reported at Aksa,Carter Road and Bandra Bandstand. mayura. janwalkar@expressindia.com
