Surflife Saving School coming up at Thannirbavi Beach in City
Mangaluru: Rashtriya Life Saving Society of India (RLSS-I) drowning prevention programme began in 1998, when the Society was born on the bank of river Yamuna in Delhi, following a school bus accident in which 29 children died for want of adult intervention. Many children would have survived if they had been given CPR soon after they were rescued from the river. No CPR was given as no one in the vicinity knew the protocol. That was on 19 November 1997. The Rashtriya Life Saving Society of India (RLSS-I) became a full member of ILS in the year 2000.
The RLSS-I is trying to fill the void and is promoting awareness in lifesaving. The Society started with programmes in swimming pools but soon extended its training programmes to other waterfronts and general care of accident victims. The Association has recently included road safety in its first aid curriculum. The aims of the RLSS-I are: Encourage the young to learn how to swim; Teach first aid and lifesaving skills; Encourage people to become lifesavers and lifeguards; Provide first aid and prevent loss of life on land and waterfronts; Recognise and reward good work done in first aid and life saving; Collect and collate information on drowning accidents and rescue affected; Investigate and analyse accidents to develop more effective rescue methods.
Partha Varanashi and other trainers of Surflife Saving (India) during an orientation programme at Tannirbhavi Beach
Swimming coach Partha Varanashi, Director of Surflife Saving (India), which is affiliated to Rashtriya Life Saving Society (India), who proposed the surf life saving school, during an orientation programme about surf life saving and other life saving skills for visitors on Tannirbhavi beach in Mangaluru said that having the school will help in conducting life saving skill training on a regular basis. “Cyclones are increasing year after year. We need one member from each family in the city to be trained in this skill that familiarises people with water,” he said.
It is about teaching sea swimming skills and using them for rescuing people. Giving impetus to training youth in surf life saving skill, the Dakshina Kannada district administration will set up a Surf Life Saving School at the second entrance to Tannirbhavi beach here. Surf life saving is about teaching sea swimming skills and using them for rescuing people. Setting up a Surf Life Saving School was among the steps proposed by the State Tourism Department to improve facilities at Tannirbhavi, Sasihitlu and other beaches in the State in 2017. The then Tourism Minister Priyank M. Kharge had sanctioned Rs 5 crore for the school.
“The Surf Life Saving School will come up shortly,” Deputy Commissioner Dr K.V. Rajendra had said during the World Tourism Day recently. Aldo Mangaluru City North MLA Y. Bharath Shetty chaired a meeting in which the school project was discussed. “Instead of a concrete structure, we have proposed to use metallic and other material for building a green building in the green canopy of the beach. The design is being finalised. The work is likely to start in a week’s time,” MLA had said.
DC Dr Rajendra had said that he is working with Mangaluru City Corporation Commissioner Akshy Sridhar and other stakeholders in further improving tourism facilities in the city. “There is now a healthy competition in the region to secure Blue Flag certification (for beaches),” he had said.
Since the start of its operation in 2013, Surflife Saving (India) has trained 38 people in surf life saving at Tannirbhavi of which six have taken part in international surf life saving competitions. It trained 200 children in Udupi and 300 youths in Karwar in 2016. From October, Surflife Saving (India) is conducting one-hour training sessions on the Tannirbhavi beach starting at 7.30 a.m. on Sundays. Apart from him, bronze-level trainers Nirup Kotian and Srikrishna and Rohit P., Anish Panambur, Yagnesh Bengre, Dixit R. are conducting the training sessions, he said.