'What can we do if people don't care about their lives?

The reel makers are so engrossed in filming videos and taking selfies that they undermine the threat of tidal wavesrdquo said a slum dweller at Bandra Bandstand where a woman drowned a week ago Even though several lives have been lost in drowning incidents since the rains arrived in the city last month visitors to seashores dams and waterfalls are throwing caution to the wind and risking their livesAuthorities in Mumbai and the surrounding cities said they have installed boards and signs cautioning visitors of the dangers and asking them not to enter water bodies Yet not everyone heeds to the request Visitors are mostly youngsters and couples said officialsRavi Jha Raushan Rathod and Rakesh SurelaSince June 12 a total of 13 people have died in different incidents in Mumbai Thane and Palghar district and one person has been missingIn the city police struggled to keep youngsters away from the shores at Bandstand in Bandra over the weekendldquoThe monsoon gives us additional workload as picnickers donrsquot only put their lives at risk but also endanger the lives of rescuersrdquo said an officer at Bandra police stationVisitors at a waterfall at Tungareshwar in Vasai PicsHanif PatelResidents of Ganesh Nagar told midday that they have also been trying to stop people from venturing into the sea ldquoBut some of them do not listen to us We can only suggest that they do not enter the seardquo said a residentMost victims minorAccording to police more than half of the victims so far were minors hence it becomes the parentsrsquo responsibility to ensure their children do not enter risk zones unsupervisedSometimes children leave their home on the pretext of playing but end up on a beach or at waterfallsYoungsters jump for a swim in a dam in VirarDeputy Commissioner of Police DCP MumbaiZone 9 Krishnakant Upadhyay said ldquoWe have increased patrolling in the area so that people donrsquot get into the sea We have kept lifeguards on standby installed warning signs and deployed police vans to alert peoplerdquoldquoAll precautionary measures are being taken But we request people not to go into the sea and endanger their lives The rocks at Bandstand are slippery and many tragic incidents have taken place in the pastrdquo he addedMBVV policeSpeakCommissioner of Police Madhukar Pandey of Mira Bhayandar Vasai Virar said ldquoWe have requested lifeguards from the Vasai Virar City Municipal Corporation VVCMC and gram panchayats in addition to our patrols We request people to be careful during heavy rain and avoid undue risksrdquo DCP Pournima ChouguleShringi said ldquoMostly youngsters and couples visit waterfalls and beaches in the monsoon The waterfall in Naigaon and coastal areas in Vasai attract the youth We have deployed police and put hoardings and banners at these points to alert the visitorsrdquoldquoWe are spreading awareness through social media and taking the help of the gram suraksha team to issue warnings Parents also have an important role to play here They cannot just let their children venture into dangerous spots to increase their likes or followers on social media especially during monsoonrdquo she addedVVCMCSpeakSecurity has also been heightened at waterfalls and dams near Mumbai as people including Mumbaikars frequent these places during monsoonVVCMC Commissioner Anil Pawar said ldquoWe have deployed additional security guards at places like dams and waterfalls We have installed boards warning visitors against entering the water bodies We have sought the policersquos help Recently incidents were reported in Vasai Virar We are trying our best to save lives but people do not understand the dangers of such places particularly during monsoon and entering via hidden routesrdquoMeanwhile Superintendent of Palghar police Balasaheb Patil said ldquoThere are two waterfalls in Jawhar talukamdashDabhosa and Kalmandavi These attract people from Mumbai Thane and other nearby areas On July 17 we imposed Section 144 of IPC to restrict visitorsrsquo entry as these waterfalls become very slippery during the rains People have drowned here while trying to record videos for likes and commentsrdquoldquoWe have deployed police teams as visitors were seen at these waterfalls despite warnings Also we are spreading awareness with the help of local residents and have deployed good swimmers to the area for emergenciesrdquo said Patil20KNo of visitors at Bandstand in Bandra on Saturday SundayThe drowning accidentsThree people have died this monsoon at this waterfall at Jawhar in Palghar districtJune 14 JuhuIn the afternoon four teenagers drowned off the coast in Juhu Rescuers had managed to pull out the bodies of Dharmesh Valji Faujiya 16 Shubham Yogesh Bhogania 16 and Manish Yogesh Oganiya 12 However Jay Roshan Tajbariya 15 remains missingJuly 10 BandraA big wave swept away 32yearold Jyoti Sonar into the sea at Bandstand Bandra Her husband Mukesh Sonar who was sitting alongside her was pulled out aliveJuly 16 VirarIn the evening three children drowned at Papadkhind dam in Fulwadi Virar Local residents managed to save two children The deceased were identified as Om Borade 11 Ansh 12 and Vansh 11July 14 VasaiA group of six friends from Nalasopara embarked on a trek to a waterfall Roshan Rathod 19 and Ravi Jha 18 misjudged the current jumped into the water and diedJuly 16 Marve creekThree boys who were part of a group of five went missing after venturing deep for a swim Local fishermen rescued two childrenmdashKrishna Jitendra Harijan 16 and Ankush Bharat Shivare 13 The children who drowned are Nikhil Sajid Kayampur 13 Subham Rajkumar Jaiswal 12 and Ajay Jitendra Harijan 12July 17 ThaneAround 2 pm after leaving college a group of 78 teenagers decided to swim in Upvan Lake in Thane However 17yearold Aditya Pawar drowned28yearold drowns in BhayandarThe Mira Bhayandar fire brigade retrieved the body of a 28yearold man who drowned in the Nagarbhavan Talav in Bhayandar West on Monday The youth identified as Amit Das was standing near the Nagarbhavan Mandal Talav in the evening with his friends An argument broke out between Das and the children who were feeding the fish in the lake After the children left Das decided to go into the lake to cool offDas went despite his friendsrsquo opposition After a long while when Das did not return to the shore his worried friends ran towards his house nearby and informed his family about it The fire brigade too was informed and the team arrived on the scene They dived into the water and retrieved Dasrsquos body The cause of his death will be determined after receiving the medical reportBy Shirish Vaktania