GTDC to recruit 20 women lifeguards

Panaji, Sep 22 (UNI) For the first time, the state-owned Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) has decided to recruit 100 lifeguards, including 20 women, to check tourists' drowning on the beaches in the state.

Informing this to mediapersons here yesterday, GTDC chairperson Fatima d'Sa said the state government has authorised the Corporation to recruit lifeguards.

All the recruits would be thoroughly tested for their physical stamina and given training in first-aid artificial breathing techniques and other rescue methods under the guidance of experts, before actually deploying them on temporary basis.

The life guards would be recruited for a period at about six months for a monthly honorarium of about Rs 5,000 to Rs 6,000. All the recruits would be locals residing in the respective areas of their jurisdiction.

At least 20 women would be recruited among the 100 lifeguards and most of them could be from the fisherfolk community with expertise in diving.

This apart, an intensive drive would be launched to educate the tourists not to venture into the sea after drinking liquor.

The danger zones would often be marked and necessary life-saving equipment would be kept to save the victims.

The police would be given clear instructions to ''parade the tourists'', who defy the advice of the lifeguards and venture into the rough sea for bathing, as it would not only endanger their lives but also tarnish the image of the state tourism.

At the same time, the respective hoteliers and stakeholders, including shack owners, were directed to cooperate with the lifeguards in giving proper direction to the tourists.

The hoteliers have expressed their readiness to arrange free transport for taking the victims to the nearby hospitals at free of cost and the local community would also be engaged in giving proper directions to the tourists.

Even the people engaged in water sports using high speed boats would be motivated to help the lifeguards in case of any drowning incidents. Signboards warning the tourists not to venture into the sea at red zones would also be displayed suitably, she informed.

These measures were being taken at a war-footing level as the tourist season begins from the next month. The number of visitors may significantly go up this year, with the onset of the 11-day International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in the state capital.

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