2 days ago
Clear and present danger: No signage near popular water bodies in JSR
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Jamshedpur: Steel City and its surrounding areas have witnessed over half a dozen drowning accidents in the last 45 days during which as many as 10 youths died. In most of the cases, youngsters fell prey to strong currents or didn't know how to swim.
The victims had gone to dams, rivers and other water bodies to spend their leisure time with their friends when they drowned after they went into the water to have fun.
Notably, in the popular water bodies and rivers where the youths drowned, be it Dimna Lake, Sathnala Dam, or ghats along the Kharkai and Subarnarekha rivers, there are no signage marking danger zones, CCTV cameras or security personnel manning the areas.
Adding to the danger is the absence of trained rescuers or lifeguards in these spots.
In a recent incident on June 7, two students of engineering courses, Sasank Jha (22) and Subham Kumar (22), met with a watery grave at the Baroda ghat on the Kharkai river. One of their friends was lucky enough to be pulled out of the river by a good Samaritan. In another incident on May 27, Suraj Mishra, in his mid-20s, drowned in Kharkai under the RIT police station area.
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He had gone there with two friends to spend some time near the river.
On May 11, Gaurav Kumar (24) and Avishek Singh (23) drowned in an irrigation canal under the MGM police station area. Two other youths, Nikhil Mukhi and Suraj, also in their 20s, drowned in the Subarnarekha river at Babudih ghat on April 22. The duo had gone there with their friends to spend some time. On April 11, Ashish Kumar Singh and Amarjit Singh, both around 20 years old, drowned in the Sathnala Dam located on the outskirts of the city.
They had gone with their friends and on reaching the spot, they went inside the water to play and drowned.
"None of the spots had any signage, CCTV vigilance or police presence, which could have proved some kind of deterrent to stop the youths from carrying out risky stunts or help them if they are in trouble," said psychologist Anuradha Mitra.
She added, "There is a great attraction for water among the youngsters and they hardly consider the risk factor.
With daredevilry, they played heroes on social media and took risky shots for reels or selfies. This often leads to fatal accidents. The local administration has to wake up to such issues and find ways to prevent such deaths among youngsters. Sadly, the city does not seem to have any trained divers. During festival times, like Chhath and Durga Puja, the administration takes the help of local fishermen to form rescue teams.
Members from civil defence should be trained as divers to help people in need."
Meanwhile, DC Karan Satyarthi said, "Authorities have been directed to prepare a report on drowning-related deaths. Officials have been instructed to do the needful for installation of warning signals near river ghats and water bodies."
