With the rise in drowning cases at the beaches in and around the city, Collector Pravin Kumar has urged Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu to accord permission for setting up a dedicated ‘beach police station’.

Submitting the statistics pertaining to the drowning cases and other aspects such as presence of the hazardous rip currents at the city beaches, the Collector has informed Mr. Naidu that the initiative would help curb the drowning death rate.

Mr. Pravin put forth the proposal at the Collector’s conference held at Undavalli recently.

He explained the necessity of having a beach police station, citing the recent death of six youngsters from HB Colony at Yarada Beach on November 12.

The Collector also informed Mr. Naidu that about 30 drowning death cases had been reported from the beaches in Visakhapatnam this year when compared to the 38 last year.

Mr. Pravin Kumar also said that even though the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC), Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (VMRDA) and several public sector units had been been taking steps to implement various beach safety measures, the recurring expenditure had emerged as major problem.

Strict monitoring

“The number of tourists coming to Vizag beaches has gone up substantially in the last few years and so does the drowning cases. The beach police station will run by the Police Department. Apart from ensuring steps to control the drowning cases, the dedicated police station can also keep an eye on the anti-social activities at the beaches,” Mr. Pravin told The Hindu.

According to him, the Chief Minister has responded positively and promised that a decision would be taken very soon.