The tragic drowning of three minor children in a pond at Chack Bhagwana village in the Jourian area of Akhnoor subdivision while they were taking a bath is yet another painful reminder that a number of water bodies across J&K remain silent death traps.
It is more agonizing for the families who face such tragedies that all such cases are preventable if adequate safety and public awareness measures are in place. In this case, the victims were aged 7, 10 and 12, making it clear that the tragedy could have been averted if their parents had accompanied them.
J&K being a region with diverse geographical topography has a number of ponds, streams, canals, rivers, and other natural and man-made water bodies with many of them located close to residential areas, schools, and agricultural fields where children routinely gather to play or bathe, particularly during the summer months. It is intriguing that despite many tragedies being reported from different places in J&K like the recent reported from River Tawi, majority of such sites lack even the most basic safety infrastructure, including warning sign boards that inform the public about water depth, sudden drop-offs, strong currents, slippery banks, or other hidden dangers.
This lack of infrastructure is one of the main reasons why people, especially youth, face mishaps. This dismal condition is also dangerous for the visitors unfamiliar with the nature of risks involved in particular water bodies like ponds, rivers and streams. Going by frequent cases of drowning of people in different water bodies across the Union Territory, the government should no longer view the necessity of installing warning signage with proper information at all approachable water bodies as an optional administrative measure because it has become a thing of paramount importance to save precious lives.
The government should be bound to prominently display information about the depth of the water, potential hazards, restriction on bathing or swimming where applicable, and emergency contact numbers at all the water bodies within the reach of people These simple yet effective interventions can act as life savers by discouraging reckless behaviour leading to tragedies. Awareness is the key to safety and through such measures tragedies could be avoided to a large extent.
At the same time, parents and guardians must recognize their responsibility to educate their children about safety precautions when going near the water bodies. This is an important issue and the first and foremost intervention from the government side should be the installation of safety sign boards, as these could guide people towards safety.
