Making a difference: This adventure club gets its kick out of rescuing people

A group that rescues accident victims at tourist sites

Over the last two years, there have been several incidents of accidental drowning of students at a beach, and drowning of students at dams. There are many, not associated with the government, who step in voluntarily to help the victims of such tragedies. One such group is Lonavala-based Shivdurga Mitra – a trekking and adventure club – which has been involved in voluntary rescue work at tourists sites including the deadly Bhushi Dam for over three decades now. The club has proved to be lifeline for many when the government machinery often proved insufficient.

“There are several forts in the Lonavala area including Rajmachi, Dakhcha Bhairi, Lohgadh, Visapur, Tikongna, Tailbiala, Dhangad. A good number of trekkers and visitors throng these places especially in the rainy season. During such times, the unfortunate incidents of visitors drowning, getting washed away with streams or falling into the gorges happen very frequently. This also leads to many deaths. On an average, at least 30 to 50 tourists die every year due to these causes. This is where we come into the picture,” Ajay Raut, president of Shivdurga Mitra, said, adding that whenever such an incident happens, the locals contact them and group members rush to the spot immediately to rescue the person in danger. “There have been scores of occasions when we shouldered the responsibility of tracking down the dead bodies of those drowned and return them to their loved ones,” he said.

According to Raut, the challenges that the club now faces are mostly infrastructural and financial. When you are involved in rescue operations, the most important factor is time, he says. The biggest challenge, he says, is to reach the spot as quickly as possible and take the affected person to the nearest hospital in doubly quicker time. “However, this becomes difficult due to the bad traffic of the city and often challenging weather. If we get special permission to install a siren or beacon for our vehicle, it will prove very helpful to us and those in need of our help. Secondly, all the activities that we carry out need money especially to buy material to carry out rescue operations. Presently, we gather money organising the summer camps and trekking activities,” said Raut.

The group started as a trekking and adventure club in 1980 when V K Gaikwad, a teacher who loved adventure activities, established it. There were less than half a dozen members in the group, all of whom were nature trail and trekking enthusiasts. With time, the members grew to as many as 200. Apart from trekking, the club conducts mountaineering expeditions and other adventure sports regularly. In many schools in Lonavala region, the club undertakes free training of rock climbing and rappling on Sundays.