Mumbaikars urged to stay safe as city reports 8 cases of drowning in over a month

Out of the six beaches, Girgaon and Juhu are labelled to be safe zones, while the remaining four are considered ‘unsafe’ owing to the strong current of water, rocky surface and sewage discharge.

Over the past few years, several incidents have come to the fore of victims getting washed away by strong currents of water.

As per data available with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), 73 people died in drowning-related incidents in Mumbai between 2019 and 2022. Maximum cases (29) were reported in 2019.

While the figures include fatalities from incidents such as drowning in lakes and sewage facilities, officials maintained that most of the drowning incidents were reported from the sea itself.

“All the drowning incidents that have occurred in the past one month have taken place in rocky and unsafe areas, where public access was restricted. We cannot stop people from going to the sea, but the onus also lies on the visitors to take precautions, especially during high tides that take place during monsoon,” Ravindra Ambulekar, chief fire officer (CFO) from the Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB) told Express on Tuesday.

Not many lifeguards

Mumbai’s beaches, which are thronged by lakhs of visitors, are manned by a total of 94 life guards, with six to eight personnel deployed at a time in various shifts.

Following the spate of drownings in the last one month, the municipal commissioner and state appointed administrator Iqbal Singh Chahal said 120 security personnel will be deployed in all the beaches, with at least ten personnel working a single shift.

“One needs to understand that carrying out rescue operations during monsoon is extremely difficult. Besides the varying tidal patterns, rains also cause problems of visibility and affects rescue operations,” said an official.

Lack of sensible approach?

Civic officials and members from the civic body’s disaster cell on Tuesday told Express that many visitors, especially from the younger age group, venture into deep waters to shoot videos and photographs for social media. Officials said even if they increase the number of guards, risks will be there unless visitors become more aware.

“In the Marve beach, there were not adequate lifeguards and I have already proposed to the civic headquarters to deploy more men in this beach for safety reasons,” Kiran Dighavkar, assistant municipal commissioner told Express.

“The other day, I saw a video of a group of people playing volleyball in the sea during high tide and rains. This kind of situation is a regular occurrence in Mumbai’s beaches. Unless people become vigilant, safety will remain a question,” he said.

Another official said, “A provision needs to be made of slapping fine on people who venture into the sea and beaches during high tides and monsoon. Until and unless disciplinary action is taken, these activities will continue.”

Way forward

To prevent further drowning incidents, the BMC, along with the Mumbai Fire Brigade, has started testing unmanned drones that will carry out rescue operations by going deep into the sea. These drones will have a capacity to bear a maximum payload of 100kg and be able to travel at a speed of 12-15 metres per second, depending on wind speed.

The drones will be equipped with rope-like-extensions that will help the victim hold it, following which he will be brought to the mainland.