State to appoint 6 special officers for clearing water sports activities

Pune: The

Maharashtra Maritime Board

(MMB) has been told to issue permissions for any water sport or boating-related activities in the state.

Six special MMB officers will be appointed at the state’s six revenue divisional commissioner’s offices to oversee the permissions for water sports by the coast as well as at small lakes and hill stations.

This move is the state’s response to the recent spate of drowning accidents in the state, said MMB chief Atul Patne. They will also ensure the presence of lifeguards and signboards, and issue permissions to operate boats. These officials will also check whether the proper equipment is used. They will have access to all the districts under their respective divisional commissioner’s office.

Very recently, youths out on a picnic on the picturesque Venna lake near Nagpur drowned when they fell off their boat while taking a selfie. In a similar incident, a man and his teenage son drowned at the Tungareshwar waterfall near Vasai. Patne said they are looking to procure devices or water safety equipment which could prevent such accidents.

Meanwhile, Praveen Pardeshi, the chief minister’s principal secretary, told TOI that the MMB is conducting lifeguard training programmes at the beaches in the state.

Lax monitoring is a problem, says concerned citizen Shashikant Deshpande. He recently visited the Venna lake in April-May, where he says he saw boating operators give tourists rowing or pedal boats for just Rs500. He added the boats did not have any life jackets. “Around 50 boats are booked every day, and there is usually a long queue. With no monitoring system in place, operators compromise safety to make a quick buck,” he said.

Relief and rehabilitation department officials pass the buck to the district collector, who they say is responsible for any water sports activity in his jurisdiction.

“Any violation needs to be reported to the collector’s office. However, this is not done and the administration wakes up only when such mishaps occur,” said Anuradha Makhani, who had also noticed the officials’ lackadaisical approach to this issue.