‘We complied with beach safety norms’
The state’s cultural and tourist deputy secretary, D.V.
The state’s cultural and tourist deputy secretary, D.V. Dalvi, on Thursday filed an affidavit in Bombay high court stating that as of now, 80 per cent beach safety measures had been complied with by the state. Hundred new candidates had applied for the job of lifeguard, out of which, 62 had been selected after imparting 10 days of training. An amount of Rs 25.86 lakh had been sanctioned in the month of July for training of lifeguards all over Maharashtra; the affidavit said.
As the state wanted to appoint 25 lifeguards in each district, till date, 62 lifeguards had been trained and more would be appointed if needed. According to the affidavit, a total of eight lifeguards in Palghar district, 23 in Raigad, 72 in Ratnagiri, 34 in Sindudurg, and 29 in Mumbai city were working on the beach. Among the various districts, only Palghar had sanctioned Rs 4 lakh for building nets in water, while Mumbai and Raigad were the only districts with car parking arrangements on beaches. The affidavit further stated that no industrial waste had been disposed in Mumbai, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Palghar districts and regular beach cleaning exercises had been conducted by local authorities. Notice boards had been displayed on most beaches, indicating where people could avail medical facilities or get help from the police or lifeguards. The state government had also sanctioned some amount for flood lights at beaches, the affidavit said. It added that the tourism and cultural department had sanctioned Rs 1.95 crore for buying life-saving equipment.
The high court was hearing a public interest litigation filed by NGO, Janhit Manch, in the wake of the accident off Murud-Janjira beach near Alibaug where 14 students, 10 of them girls, drowned earlier this year. The court fixed August 23 for hearing on the matter.
On an earlier occasion, Justice Oka, observed that the state had not taken any measures towards beach safety since 2006. Accordingly, in April, the court directed that the state comply with all beach safety measures before July 31.