Alarmed over the rising incidents of people drowning in the Ganga and its tributaries across the State, authorities have claimed to have taken measures to prevent their recurrence. However, police said they have been a bit helpless since some of the tourists tend to ignore the warning inscribed on the signboards and move deep into the areas marked as danger zones.
Srinagar Police Station in-charge Uttam Singh said that signboards warning people against getting into the river at places marked as the danger zones have been installed at various places in the police station areas. Despite this, some people move to the desolate places to take dip, resulting in few of them getting swept away in the river. He further said that police teams are being deployed to watch people’s movements and stop them from moving far.
Vikasnagar circle officer SK Singh said that signboards alerting the people not to get into Shakti Nahar, known for strong current, have been installed. “We have identified danger areas and a signboard has been installed. But our experiences bear witness to the fact that the local residents do not follow. As we cannot leave things to chance teams consisting of local police and Jal Police are deployed from time to time to monitor the movements of the locals and the tourists and stop them from moving into the risk area of the river,” he added.
lakshman Jhula police station in-charge Amarjeet Singh said that with large number of tourists from across the country coming here to take dip in Ganga daily, the area to be monitored is large. “Several measures have been taken and police teams comprising Jal Police are being deployed with instruction to prevent the tourists from getting into the stretches of the river deemed dangerous, given the strong currents. Signboards have also been installed at various places to warn the visitors against the danger lurking in the river,” he said.
The number of cases involving persons meeting watery graves in Ganga is alarmingly on the rise over the past few years. Statistics say that 17 persons were swept away in the gushing Ganga under Rishikesh police station in 2014 and the figure is around ten in 2015 so far. Seven persons were swept away in Ganga under Muni-ki- Reti police station in 2014 while around eight met watery graves in 2015. Seven persons were swept away in the river under lakshman Jhula police station in 2014 while the figure is seven so far in 2015, it is learnt.