Every year, an estimated 236,000 people drown, making drowning a major public health problem worldwide. Drowning is one of the leading causes of death globally for children and young people aged 1-24 years. Drowning is the 3rd leading cause of unintentional injury death, accounting for 7 percent of all injury-related deaths. It is a problem even in Goa with 62 deaths so far this year from people drowning.
Today, World Drowning Prevention Day is commemorated, declared in April 2021 by General Assembly resolution. This global advocacy event serves as an opportunity to highlight the tragic and profound impact of drowning on families and communities and to offer life-saving solutions to prevent it.
To prevent the occurrence of this tragic reality, it is important for the administration to conduct a urgent, coordinated and multi-sector action plan with measures like installing barriers controlling access to water; providing safe places away from water such as crèches for pre-school children with capable childcare; teaching swimming, water safety and safe rescue skills; training bystanders in safe rescue and resuscitation; setting and enforcing safe boating, shipping and ferry regulations and improving flood risk management.
In Goa with its various landscape dotted with water bodies, the danger of drowning increases. In Goa, learning to swim is a life skill. Indrajeet Hadilkar, a renowned swimming coach has coached over a thousand people to be swimmers in Goa over the years. He says, “Goa is a beach state and here people know not to venture into the sea in the monsoon. They know the danger. Most of the drowning cases happen near the waterfalls because people want to venture into the wild. Many people go hiking or trekking and they end up entering waterfalls even when there is notification warning people against going into the falls. In Goa more people know swimming than the rest of the country. This is because there are so many water bodies around. However, sometimes even knowing swimming will not help. Where there are strong currents, it is dangerous to swim. With strong currents you can get washed out. You can bang into rocks and suffer injuries and die.”
When asked for any safety tips, he says it was important to not venture into the water during the monsoon season. It is important to be vigilant and talk to locals because they would provide information about the place where you could enter the water and places to avoid. It is important to carry a rope when you go trekking. The rope can be given to the person who is in the water. It was also important to take the headcount when you are in the water every few minutes. It is called the buddy system. You have to take care of one person and keep an eye on the person at all times.
Roland Martins of GOACAN is working hard to ensure drowning does not happen in Goa. He says people swimming in a stone quarry filled with rain water were exposing themselves to danger. He says some advisories at some pools were not understood which created problems. He then says the waterfalls were a problem with people not able to judge the levels. The tourism sector had a huge responsibility. There had to be an advisory which stated that everyone was welcome but they had to be careful in the water. The government had to do this. GOACAN has called on the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) to organise capacity building programmes on Drowning Prevention for North Goa District in the year 2024-25.
The importance of learning to swim and to be confident was highlighted by Clarissa Costa who learned to swim in her forties. A resident of Caranzalem, she had a fear of water and never learned to swim in her childhood. She says it is a lifesaving skill in Goa and she has ensured her children know how to swim. Her son is so good that he is now representing the state in swimming championships. She says, “Learning to swim has changed me. It was the toughest thing I did in my life. I was scared of water and the deep. I could swim in shallow water but the deep was something else. I kept going into the water and anybody else who has learned to swim late in life knows the fear I felt. I was encouraged by the group. I learned to swim last January. It was a very technical experience. I had to unlearn and learn new skills. Just learning how to swim is very important. It is mental. It has been a very rewarding experience. It is important to get over your fear. I know I will not drown in the sea but it is important to be aware.”
Drowning happens in a matter of seconds and can be traumatic for people left behind. It is important that people stay alert. That is the only way to avoid these tragedies that seem to happen so regularly.