‘Apart from saving lives, we help educate & inform people about their safety’

HERALD: Please let us know how Drishti is helping Goa? 

RAVI SHANKAR: Drishti is a company driven by passion. It was not a profit derivative but was built on the passion that Goa needed a beach safety system in place. The earlier years of work that was done was primarily to make the government aware, working with the public and the shack owners on a private basis. At some point, the government saw sense to roll a tender out, which actually meant that we created a requirement and then worked with it to create a policy and then roll out a programme so that the company goes back to almost 20 years of beach safety and marine history which is our background. We come from a space where we are trying to create a safe beach ecosystem.

HERALD: How difficult has it been to you to keep an eye on all the 42 beaches of Goa which has our frenzy holidaying tourists?

RS: Actually to man forty beaches or four hundred, in terms of process, methodology and the systems that we have in place, we can fire up to 400 beaches as well. The trick lies in what is the passion the stakeholders show into adopting the safety measures and Goa has been the first leader of this initiative. No other State has done it the way Goa has rolled it out. We work with 700 enthusiastic people spread across the 103-km coastline of Goa. We maintain it.  Besides we have around 40-45 jet skies which during rescue operations. Also, we have 38 towers across each of these beaches to monitor and support the team that is on the ground 24x7. The only area of concern that we constantly have is the burden of commercialisation that happens to beaches and they tend to affect the beach safety practices to some extent.

HERALD:  How responsible are the ones who enjoy the fun of Goa?

RS: Actually, the word 'how responsible', I think when you are on vacation there is also a responsibility. To throw some interesting statistics in your direction, close to 90 per cent of visitors who come to Goa do not know to swim. From the Indian tourist perspective, out of which probably 65-70 per cent have seen ocean waters for the first time. They have probably run around in rivers, wells and ponds and suddenly come into this huge expanse of the ocean out which, an interesting statistic we found was that 70-80 per cent of youth visiting Goa from 17-19 age groups are trying alcohol for the first time as well. So these are very potent combinations that fire up. Not having the understanding of the water, not having any idea of swimming and to add that alcohol, peer pressure, which is a brilliant recipe for disaster that is what I have seen which is sad. One the other hand Europeans know how to swim they know and understand the water and more than anything else they also respect the flag system whereas in India we love to push the envelope. How far can I get away without listening to what we have been asked to do, culturally it takes a little time for us to break through.

HERALD: What are your safety systems?

RS: Till now, we have two layers of safety systems that we have put in place. One is intervention when actual drowning is happening and that is the spine of the entire life saving system that we have, which is powered by the boys with their rescue tubes and jet skis that are ready. The jeeps are waiting, but the first layer that we have is also a preventive layer which did not exist eight years ago but now exist. There are verbal warnings constantly. I do not want the sanctity of the beach ruined by loud speakers blaring saying “bahar nikalye, bahar nikalye”. It is intrusive but that is the only solution.

HERALD: Do you have any legislative powers to fine or prosecute those who violate safety norms?

RS: No, we are not empowered. Well that requires what you call legislative clearances. There is a different Act that has been passed for us to have permission to issue challans so it is almost police powers to be admitted to a private agency which has never been done in this country with exception being Mumbai Municipal Corporation which has its warden system for waste disposals. There is no private agency in India that I am aware of that is empowered to cut challan for an offence. Personally, I am not a huge believer of imposing penalties and challans but I believe in communication strategy. I think the bottom line is not restriction or challans. It is about educating the people who are coming in or sensitising them at least.

HERALD: Does politics play over economics or business? What support do you need from the State government and how much have you invested in the State?

RS: I am a huge believer that politics and business can actually work together. However, the thing is whether the leadership wants it. The future of Goa lies in its youth- the segment that we work with today  of around 700 boys underwater experts.  They are all in the age group from 19-21 very influential age groups. They are the future of the state. I think what we need to do is to actually bolster, train and equip them in their thirties with another alternate job and that is what I think the State should do. It should be a facilitator to allow the 30+ programme to roll out again through private investment and enterprises. As of date our capital exposure is around Rs 27 crore, which we ran for the first five years and we hope to continue for the next five years.