The Fort Kochi beach is teeming with visitors with the arrival of summer holidays.
As the sun set on Sunday, hundreds of leisure-seekers, mostly youngsters and children, took a dip in the sea. But the onset of the holiday season has put lifeguards on the alert amid complaints that young local tourists are disobeying instructions, putting themselves in grave danger while swimming in the sea.
Cochin Heritage Zone Conservation Society has put up a board virtually banning swimming off the Fort Kochi beach, a haunt for holidaymakers, especially during summer.
While there have been protests against the ban, sources in the society reminded of the risks involved in swimming in the shipping channel.
Fraught with danger
Compared to other beaches in the district, Fort Kochi calls for more caution, according to sources in the District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC).
There is a tendency among swimmers, especially those who are not so experienced, to move further away from the beach and reach the shipping channel, which invariably poses a threat to their lives, they said. For the record, two young swimmers were saved in the nick of time three weeks ago, thanks to timely intervention by the coastal police and lifeguards, said a DTPC official.
Incidentally, there are not enough lifeguards on the beach, making matters worse. Though lifeguards are deployed on Fort Kochi, Munambam and Cherai beaches, their numbers are not enough to manage the holiday crowd.
There are only six lifeguards on the Fort Kochi beach working in two shifts.
