26 drowning hotspots in Himachal to have lifeguards

The state police have identified 26 drowning hotspots across the state that must be monitored to ensure that people do not go near water bodies and engage in unsafe swimming activities therein.

The police will also deploy two Home Guards as lifeguards, along with an SDRF personnel, at each hotspot.

As designated lifeguards, the Home Guards will be at the frontline of safety at the identified drowning hotspots. Their role will be crucial in preventing drowning incidents and maintaining order around water bodies.

Each lifeguard will be equipped with essential life-saving tools such as life jackets, rescue ropes and throw bags, binoculars and megaphones.

They will purely have a preventive role at these hotspots. However for rescue work, the local police, DDMA, SDRF and other such agencies shall be responsible.

Addressing a press conference here today, Director General of Police (DGP) Atul Verma said, “Himachal Pradesh is dotted with several water bodies, including lakes, rivers, streams and nullahs. Major rivers like the Ravi, Beas, Sutlej, Chenab, Parbati, and Yamuna, with their tributaries, flow rapidly down the hilly terrain towards the plains.”

“While these water bodies provide irrigation, water supply and are tourist attractions, they also contribute to natural disasters like floods, landslides, and deaths due to drowning,” he said.

The DGP said an average 500 deaths due to drowning were reported in Himachal Pradesh annually, making it a significant yet avoidable cause of death.

“In order to prevent loss of precious lives due to drowning, an exercise was conducted by the SDRF, where data regarding deaths due to drowning was collected from each district and was plotted on a map to identify major hotspots in the state,” he said.