Drowning incidents

Incidents of loss of human lives due to drowning is becoming a common occurrence in Kashmir especially when more and more people, especially youth, are visiting streams and nallahs bedecked in mountains to cool themselves off in this sweltering heat. Earlier this week, two girls died after they were caught in the surging stream in Tangmarg’s Drang area, a location where such tragic incidents have happened in the past as well. The deceased girls, who were cousins, lost their lives when a sudden inflow to a power canal washed them away at Ferozpur Nallah. Media reports quoting locals of the area said the tragedy, the second of its kind at the place in 2021, could have been avoided if the authorities had closed the place for visitors. A timely siren and announcement could have prevented the incident. A few days before this incident, two young boys drowned in separate incidents in the Lolab area of north Kashmir’s Kupwara district when they were bathing in ponds near their homes. Again, report quoting local residents fuming over the fact that despite their repeated pleas, the authorities had not fenced the water body to prevent such incidents. At the same time, people’s carelessness is also one of the major reasons for these tragedies. Feeling the heat, the disaster management department has come up with a list of don’ts to avoid any such tragedy in the future. The department asked the people not to venture into the water unless a person knows how to swim. It has asked people not to dive into water or push someone into the water and not to swim alone, especially if one is not an experienced swimmer. The department has also suggested people not to swim under bridges, dams, and water bodies that are under construction and never jump from higher levels into flowing water, rivers, or dams. The department has advised people to remain cautious of underwater hazards. It has asked the elders to keep a constant visual contact with children when they are swimming and learn first aid as timely action might save someone’s life. Apart from restricting visits of people to such places, the authorities must also keep life-saving equipment like a rope, lifejacket, lifebuoy, or improvised flotation device ready for rescue operations at such places where drowning incidents happen. Expert swimmers and officials who have proper training to deal with any such situation must be deployed at places where possibility of such incidents is high. These tragedies are very easy to avoid and the respective district administrations must do everything to ensure human life is not lost.