Mumbai: Five years on and the BMC is still awaiting nod from the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority over its proposal of erecting watch towers on six beaches across the city. Consequently, a corpus of Rs20crore, earmarked for the project, has been lying idle. The permission delay puts a question mark on the safety of visitors, especially in the wake of the recent incident wherein four boys drowned in the sea at Juhu Koliwada.
BMC deployed 26 additional lifeguards post mishap
Post the mishap, the BMC deployed 26 additional lifeguards while 94 of their peers have been already manning Girgaon, Dadar, Juhu, Versova, Aksa and Gorai beaches. However, watch towers will be instrumental in saving lives as they give a distant sea view from the beach, said the fire brigade official.
Despite issuing prompt high tide alerts and keeping a hawk's eye on tourists venturing into the sea, it sometimes becomes difficult to relay information about if somebody is drowning. Watch towers come into play in such situations.
“Coastal land falls within the jurisdiction of the state government. No one can construct or erect any structure without its permission. Watch towers will give a distant view. A lifeguard can keep watch on the people, who venture into the sea, and can alert other lifeguards who are nearby the drowning person,” said the official.
Fire brigade had planned that once the watch towers were erected, equipment like binoculars, flood lights, and walkie talkies would be provided to lifeguards. “The BMC had decided to give a contract to the Drishti Lifesaving Company to erect watch towers on beaches on the lines of Goa. The civic wards, which have sea shores in their jurisdiction, will pay for the towers. But coastal land is owned by the state government therefore CRZ permission is required for construction,” said the official.
Chief Fire Brigade Officer Sanjay Manjrekar has appealed to beach visitors not to enter into the sea if they don't know how to swim. Apart from that, he also asked to stay away from waves when there is a high tide.
Pointers
Number of beaches in city
6
Locations
Girgaon, Dadar, Juhu, Versova, Aksa and Gorai
Cost of building watch towers
Rs20 cr
Total number of lifeguards
94
Additional manpower deployed after drowning
26
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