Only 2 beaches safe in city, govt admits in HC
Elsewhere, high pollution, strong underwater currents
MOHAN KUMAR
ONLY two of Mumbai’s 12 beaches are safe to visit, the remaining are either
very polluted or dangerous because of strong underwater currents and rocks,
the state government has told the Bombay High Court.
The Tourism Department made this admission in a draft notification on beach
safety norms submitted to the court last week, identifying safe areas for
swimming, boat rides and watersports. The draft notification was prepared on
the high court’s direction in July, when it took up a public interest
litigation filed by the NGO Janhit Manch.
According to the Tourism Department, Girgaum Chowpatty and Juhu Chowpatty
are the only safe beaches in Mumbai for swimming and guided water sports.
And that the beaches at Mahim and Dadar Chowpatty are polluted because of
sewage discharge, while rocks and strong undercurrents make the Gorai, Marve
and Walkeshwar-Worli beaches equally unsafe.
The government, however, claimed that all the beaches in Thane
district-Bordi, Satpati and Kelva-Mahim-and most of the beaches in
Ratnagiri, Raigad and Sindhudurg are safe.
After the court’s directions in July, tourism department officials attended
a state cabinet meeting on July 26, where the government approved the
demands put forward by the department ”keeping in mind the safety of
tourists and others visiting beaches”.
Among the demand approved were: lifeguards, tubes, life-jackets, search
lights, watch towers and communication devices.
Bhushan Gagram, Secretary (tourism), said the state government has given its
approval to make available all these facilities, including male guides,
relevant maps and sign boards as early as possible.
The government, through the tourism department, is also initiating a process
for immediate implementation of guidelines followed by the National
Watersports Association at Panjim, Goa. The guidelines are: ¦ Lifeguards to
be appointed as required ¦ Safety measures in deep seas ¦ Marking areas safe
for swimming ¦ Proper system for disposal and recycling of waste at
commercial spots ¦ Ensuring proper disposal of plastic, tin and bottles ¦
Direction signals, sign and warning boards ¦ Sirens to warn of danger ¦
Floodlights at places where people are expected at night ¦ First-aid
facilities, on call doctors and ambulances in case of emergencies ¦ Watch
towers As per the draft notification, in urban areas, the urban development
department should coordinate with the corporation and other departments and
in rural areas it should coordinate with gram panchayats and zilla parishads
to implement the proposal. The Maharashtra Tourism Board will oversee the
implementation.
The PIL will come up for hearing next week.
Beaches: Safe, Unsafe ? Girgaum Chowpatty: Safe ? Juhu Chowpatty: Safe ?
Walkeshwar-Worli: Unsafe ? Dadar Chowpatty: Unsafe ? Mahim: Unsafe ? Bandra
to Khar: Unsafe ? Aska (Danapani): Unsafe ? Manori: Unsafe ? Gorai: Unsafe ?
Marve: Unsafe ? Raj Bhavan: Prohibited area ? Tata Garden, B D Road: Not
visited by tourists
URL :
http://70.86.150.130/indianexp