Click to play videoPanaji (Goa): At 56, Sadguru Naik is still the main lifeguard at the crowded Calangute beach in north Goa, a tourist hotspot that reports one of the highest number of beach mishaps in the country.
Naik joined the service in 1972 and though no longer as quick as he used to be, he is still in business. Considering the shortage of lifeguards, there will be no early retirement for him.
“There are just nine life guards on Goan coastline. But there are tourists coming in huge numbers. It’s not possible to guard them with present strength. We need more life guards,” says lifeguard Sadguru Naik.
While these lifeguards cannot ensure safety of lakhs of tourists coming to Goa, they say the tourists themselves are also to blame. Most guards complain that tourists do not follow safety rules.
A recent government report says about 250 tourists drowned on Goan beaches between 2001 and 2005, 100 in the past year alone.
Officials say efforts are being made to deploy more guards on the beaches.
“Recruitment of lifeguards is already completed. They have undergone rigorous training in life saving techniques. They are well equipped in instruments and techniques. We have identified locations where they need to be placed and once procedures are complete we will deploy them,” says Managing Director, GTDC Sanjeet Rodrigues.
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