Panaji: Every year, this month Shashikant Jadhav was a busy man manning the lifeguards on crowded Calangute-Baga beach. But now he is isolated on the almost deserted beaches, with people very less people showing up on the shoreline due to current lockdown.
“The present situation at the beach is very different from what it was before the lockdown. The months of March to May see throngs of people including tourists and locals who head to the beach for some respite from the summer heat,” Jadhav told as he continued his routine round to ensure that all his men in red are alert, even though there are very less people moving around.
Most time of the day, the beach is empty.
“Usually there are thousands of people on the high density beaches such as Calangute and Baga in north Goa and Colva in south Goa. In comparison the number of people now are far lesser,” he said.
While state is going through a lockdown as a part of fight towards COVID-19, Drishti Marine, a private agency guarding the beaches, have continued their duty of manning the shorelines.
“The present experience can be compared to the crowds we witness during the monsoon months. However an emergency can happen at any time so we continue to be on guard,” he said.
While the crowds are scarce, Jadhav’s duty has no change in schedule.
“My day starts like any other. I monitor the weather and sea conditions so that I am aware where the rip currents and tides can be,” he said. “We set up red flags along the beaches to indicate that the beach is not open for swimming and I continue to patrol the beach stretch,” he added.
“If we see someone attempting to enter the waters we advise them to retreat and to head back to their homes,” Jadhav added.
Back in office of Drishti Marine, company’s Executive Director Ravi Shankar is busy ensuring that there is no stone left unturned to ensure that the shorelines are safe, though deserted at several stretches.
“Red flags have been put up at all the beaches indicating that the beaches are closed for swimming,” he said.
“ Since the nation-wide lockdown was issued, the lifeguard force present along the shore patrol the beach stretch requesting people to refrain from entering the waters and retreat to their homes. They also have assisted the local administration in keeping people off the beaches,” he said.
Shankar said “however there is an eco-system which exists along the beaches of Goa which includes fishermen, locals who have their houses located at the shore, tourists stranded at the beach resorts and seasonal beach shack employees, for whom the beach is their home.”
“At beaches with a high density of beach shacks or inhabitants living along the coast, there are people who venture out in the mornings and evenings at the beaches,” he said.
Shankar said that this is a significant number of people. “Along the Sinquerim to Baga beach stretch alone there is a floating crowd of people which is close to 2500 who are at the beach every day,” he claimed.
He said that at quieter beaches in the far north and south of Goa there have been some incidents of people venturing into the sea for a dip.
“In such cases the lifeguards alert the swimmers to retreat back to shore and request them to return to their dwelling,” he added.
The company said that over the last few weeks we have been sensitising the lifeguards and staff on the dos and don’ts as prescribed by the WHO guidelines and the state health department.
“Training sessions have been conducted for all the 450 strong lifeguard force in separate batches to educate them on Covid-19 and dispel myths,” he said.
“Instructions prescribing the dos and don’ts have been put up prominently at all the 38 lifeguard towers along the coast. Every lifeguard tower has been equipped with masks, gloves, hand wash, soaps and sanitisers so that lifeguards can sanitise themselves frequently,” Shankar said.
Lifeguards have been briefed to keep a distance of two meters between themselves and others at all times and to actively use whistles and hailers to give instructions to people present on the beach, he added.
