On November 11, ten youngsters from HB Colony in the city were swept away by strong waves at Yarada Beach. Though the community guards and locals tried to rescue them, they could save only four, while the rest drowned.

The incident brings to the fore a pertinent question that whether or not the lifeguards posted at the Yarada beach have adequate equipment to deal with the drowning cases. Well, the answer appears to be  no .

The community guards do not even have adequate lifebuoys and life jackets. All they have is a few ropes to be used in emergency situations. We do not have lifebuoys, life jackets or other equipment. All we need to do is just swim, search and bring the drowning victims to ashore without any safety gear, says Ch Ashok, a community guard posted at Yarada beach.

The lifeguards say that tourist flow to the Yarada beach has been picking up gradually over the years. But, the beach stretching over a three and a half kms, is dangerous for swimming.  It takes time to reach the accident spot after we come to know about it. The response time can be brought down if we are provided with vehicles, they say.

 No shelter

 We do not even have a shelter or at least a hut on the beach. Throughout the day, we need to stay under the sun, says Mr. Ashok.

In 2011, a community guard died while discharging his duty at the Yarada beach and the guards say that they are not provided with adequate equipment, even after the incident.

Not just Yarada beach, the condition of the community guards posted at Rama Krishna Beach (RK Beach) is no different. We have only three lifebuoys. Many a time, we have sought life jackets and rescue tubes that can bear a load of around 100 kg. But there has been no response, says Vasupalli Devudu, a community guard posted at RK Beach.

RK Beach, among the busiest tourist spots in the city, receives a large crowd when compared to other beaches in the city. Keeping this in view, about 18 guards have been posted at RK Beach who work in two shifts.

 As the drowning incidents are on the rise, it is better to have speedboats or water scooters which can speed up search operations. Speedboats can reduce drownings deaths by more than 50%, opines Mr Devudu. In total, 27 community guards work in three major beaches —RK Beach, Yarada and Rushikonda. The local beaches attract more than 10 lakh tourists every year.

480 deaths in 10 years

In the last one decade, about 460 drowning cases claiming 480 lives have been recorded from the city beaches. Around 30 deaths have been reported this year so far when compared to 39 last year.

 We undertake rescue works, risking our lives, but we do not have insurance cover. Sometimes, salary does not come in time. The authorities concerned have never bothered for our safety,  allege the community guards.

Panel mooted

Meanwhile, Collector Pravin Kumar has said that they are constituting a district level committee comprising the officials of police, revenue, GVMC, tourism, fisheries and few other departments. The committee will come up with recommendations to keep the drowning deaths at bay. Then, we will initiate further measures in that direction,  he adds.