The drowning of four teenagers, including two sisters, on the eve of New Year at sea near Seagulls Restaurant off the New Port, has brought back to focus the necessity of creating awareness about dangers of swimming in sea and the adequate deployment of swimmers or divers near prominent tourist beaches in Puducherry.
The sisters - S. Mohana and S. Lekha - who were students of Subramaniya Bharathiyar School, came with their mother to the beach around noon on December 12. As they were swimming in the sea along with two of their friends - Naveen and Kishore, a massive wave swept them away. The tragedy unfolded in front the mother of the two girls.
“Everything happened in the spur of a moment. The children were swimming as the wave hit them and dragged them away. As the mother started crying in despair, people alerted the policemen who were on patrol duty,” said a police officer.
The bodies of all the four deceased were recovered from different places in the surrounding coastal hamlets in the subsequent days. The latest drowning incident is not an isolated case. In the last two years alone, 23 people drowned while swimming in the sea from the beach area stretching from the Chief Secretariat to the Pondy Marina area.
After frequent drowning incidents, signboards warning people not to venture deep into the sea were put up. But people often ignore these warnings.
Even after repeated incidents, there has been no proper deployment of swimmers or divers at the beaches where hundreds of people gather on weekends and special occasions such as New Year celebrations, a tour operator said.
According to sources at the District Collectorate and Police Department, the necessity for proper deployment of swimmers and divers was stressed in official meetings held prior to New Year celebrations.
“In fact, we have given in writing the necessity to have at least 10 divers or swimmers along the Beach Promenade area. The Tourism Department and Fisheries Department were expected to provide deploy lifeguards. If we had adequate lifeguards, the children could have been saved,” said a policeman who was on the New Year security bandobust.
The tour operator said tourists are very keen on swimming at sea near the Chief Secretariat and Seagulls area, especially after beach nourishment was taken up.
“The constant presence of lifeguards can give visitors a sense of security while spending time at the beach, especially during morning hours. Police personnel should also be deployed on a daily basis to make public announcements regarding venturing into the sea. Given the vagaries of nature, people should be made aware of the risks involved in swimming in the sea, especially areas considered unsafe,” he said.
Y. Venkata Rao, Department of Tourism Studies, School of Management, Pondicherry University, said Puducherry is certainly going to attract more tourists because of its ambience. The beach gets crowded every day, he said.
“There is a need to display do’s and don’ts on the beach based on the patterns of sea tides and create awareness among tourists. Tourist Police should be deployed to give proper advisory to visitors. The Tourism Department should deploy trained personnel whereever necessary for risk management. We need to provide tourists a fear-free atmosphere on the beaches of Puducherry, “ he added.
Scientific study of coast
M. V Ramana Murthy, National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR), Chennai, told The Hindu that a scientific study of the stretch from Chief Secretariat to Pondy Marina area would help in identifying the zones of rip current and undercurrent. The study would help in identifying the pattern of such currents and its seasons. The identification of the currents would help in marking safe and red zones, he said.
“The NCCR has already installed a beach monitoring camera near the Chief Secretariat a few days ago. We will be examining the footage to identify the pattern of waves in the area,” he said.
