Although the Malpe Life Guard has saved 16 persons from drowning in Malpe beach, since it started a year-and-a-half ago, it suffers from lack of manpower and equipment.
The Life Guard was started after the number of drowning incidents at the beach increased.
The six members sit in a small room made of metal located on the northern side of the beach. They have a handmike, lifebuoy equipment, a rope, three lifejackets, a pair of binoculars, and a first-aid box.
The Malpe Development Committee has provided them with a loudspeaker set and pays the members Rs. 5,350 per month. These life guards are on duty from 7 a.m. to 7.30 p.m.
They keep warning people from venturing into the sea and make important announcements during the evening hours, when the crowd is at the maximum, through loudspeakers.
“It is mostly people from districts of south Karnataka, who ignore warnings and get into the sea. Just yesterday, we rescued a woman from Bengaluru,” said Chandradhar Kundar, a life guard.
The room from where they function is not just small, but also not equipped with UPS facility. Hence the loudspeakers do not work when there is no power supply. The Malpe beach is 3-km long and the six members have to struggle to keep a watch on the entire stretch.
“The committee should double the number of life guards and double our salaries too.
It should provide us with a jeep to travel through the stretch. Right now, six of us have to divide the areas in the beach and keep vigil,” said a life guard.
Despite the fact that they get into the sea and save people, the life guards do not enjoy life insurance facility. “We require at least three more loudspeakers to cover the three-kilometre stretch and also walkie-talkie sets. They should provide us with a water scooter and more life jackets so that we can reach the drowning person/persons fast and save them,” said Mohan Kanchan, another life guard.
MLA’s reaction
Pramod Madhwaraj, MLA, said so far the members of the Life Guard had not brought these problems to his notice. “But we will look into their demands,” he said.
