Ask any tourist, be they from other states or from other districts in Andhra Pradesh, what attracts them the most in Visakhapatnam and pat would come the reply, the beaches.
Be it the tourist or the locals, the beaches, especially the Ramakrishna Beach, fondly referred to as the RK Beach, is the favourite spot. On weekends, especially during summer, the crowd swells to over a lakh, on the 4-km-stretch from Naval Coastal Battery to YMCA. It is also on this stretch that most number of drowning deaths have occurred.
Since 2006 there were more than 400 incidents of drowning, resulting in over 450 deaths, at various beaches in Visakhapatnam. And 75 per cent of the deaths were recorded on the RK Beach alone. The other beaches include Yarada, Rushikonda and Appikonda.
Of the 451 who drowned, 382 were males and 69 females, said Inspector at the City Crime Record Bureau Swami. Of the total number of deceased, 55 per cent were in the age group of 16 to 25.
Latest
The latest incident was on Sunday, when five persons, including three 10th standard students went missing. All the five were not locals. The students were from Mangalapalem of Kothavalasa mandal, Vizianagaram district, one was from Koraput in Odisha and the other was from Bihar. The dead were identified as B. Varaprasad, S. Shravan and K. Seshu, all three 10th class students, Korra Seetanna, a daily wager at the Fishing Harbour and from Koraput, and Babbar Khan, also a daily wager at the Container Terminal, from Bihar.
Death zone
The beaches are picturesque and the blue water entices the visitor for a swim, but they are death traps, said Head of the Department of Oceanography and Meteorology, Andhra University, O.S.R.U. Bhanu Kumar.
According to him, the ocean surface close to the beaches, especially the RK Beach, is littered with huge rocks and boulders, which causes rip currents. “The currents are strong and sudden and cannot be noticed by a layman. The current is especially strong during high tides and most of the drowning is caused by the rip current,” said Prof. Bhanu Kumar.
Awareness and policing important
Rip currents are common factors, but deaths can be minimised by constant patrolling by the authorities concerned.
“The formation and movement of a rip current can be observed through satellite imaging and the people should be warned through the public address system. Rip currents are common in the Atlantic and Indian oceans, but the authorities in the U.S. and Australia, follow the current pattern and the people are warned in advance. This system is not present in our country,” he said.
People do not listen
Despite warning boards erected at vulnerable spots and vigil by the community guards, people still venture into the sea and they do not listen to us, said a community guard.
