PANJIM, JULY 16
Ninety-five per cent of the drowning cases in Goa are due to alcohol abuse on the beaches, a top official of Drishti Special Response Services has said.
Interacting with reporters, after the company was awarded ISO certification, V K Kanwar, chief operations officer, Drishti, said that lifeguards face a tough time managing the tourists on the beaches.
“Ninety-five per cent of the deaths on beaches in Goa are due to alcohol abuse on the beaches by tourists”, he said.
Kanwar stated that despite warnings from lifeguards, the tourists go to swim in rough seas under the influence of alcohol. “Whenever our people try to stop them they become violent”, he said.
However, despite this, Drishti does not want to regulate alcohol on beaches.
“People come to Goa to enjoy and we do not want to play spoilsport”, he said adding “instead we would like the tourists to be more responsible”.
Drishti, known for saving lives across the shores was awarded the ISO certificate by RINA — a 150-year old global organization in the field of certification.
The certificate was awarded by the RINA Managing Director Rama Krishnan in the presence of Chief Minister Digambar Kamat, and Minister of Tourism Nilkant Halarnkar.
Interacting with reporters after the glittering function, in a starred hotel in the city, Ankit Somani, Vice President Drishti Group, said “at Drishti, we are serious about saving lives. Life guarding is a professional business and requires the best equipments and a disciplined team.”
“Surf Life Saving Goa has performed exceedingly well and has been able to reduce casualties by 99% in beaches it guards. This is a safety commitment we promise to keep working at”, he stated.
He added, “we are very thankful to the government and the citizens of Goa who have been so supportive and partnered with us whole-heartedly to make this project a success”.
