No safeguards: Two swimming in Ravi drown

Enforcing ban on swimming in the canal is parents’ responsibility: CCPO.

LAHORE: Despite the imposition of Section-144 prohibiting swimming or bathing at seven points on the Lahore Canal, BRB Canal and River Ravi, at least five people – among the hundreds who throng these places – have died in the past week.

Two boys drowned while bathing in River Ravi on Monday.

Shahdara police said a group of 30 boys was bathing in the river near Ravi Bridge when two of them were swept away by currents.

The duty officer said that Bilal, 12, and Shamoon Masih, 14, residents of Jia Moosa Shahdara, were swimming in the river when they went out of their depth and were swept away. Other boys in the group alerted Rescue-1122 and a team reached the scene. They started a rescue operation which had to be called off due to the dark. The operation will continue tomorrow, Rescue-1122 officials said.

Separately, two men drowned while swimming in various locations on the canal on Sunday. Police said a 20-year-old man drowned in the Canal at Fateh Garh, Harbanspura, and a 24-year-old man drowned in the Canal at Jallo Mor, Batapur. Police said their identities had not been ascertained.



In yet another incident, a boy drowned in River Ravi on Friday.

A Rescue-1122 spokesman said around 50 people in the city had drowned in the past two months.

The number of cases has spiked due to the scorching heat, officials said. Thousands of people turn to the Canal and River Ravi to bathe.

Around two weeks ago, the district coordination officer announced that 10 approved public bathing points in the Canal would be monitored. He had also directed officials to display public safety awareness flyers at these points. He had ordered swimmers from the Civil Defence Department to act as lifeguards at these points. Apparently lifeguards were present at the scene when Shamoon Masih and Bilal drowned.

Revenue Additional Deputy Commissioner Irfan Memon told The Express Tribune that two lifeguards had been deputed at River Ravi, one at the BRB Canal and 10 along the Lahore Canal.

He said the City assistant commissioner had been directed to file an inquiry report on the deaths due to drowning despite the presence of lifeguards. He said separate reports had been sought from relevant assistant commissioners on deaths in the Canal as well. “Lahore canal is too big to man and hence the drowning incidents take place, despite the imposition of Section 144,” Memon said.

To a question on enforcement of Section 144 at these locations, Public Relations Officer to the DCO Imran Maqbool said once it is imposed, the police are responsible for its enforcement. In this case, it was their responsibility to stop people from swimming in the river.

Maqbool said that the city government had written several letters to the police requesting enforcement of Section 144.

The incident at River Ravi occurred while around the same number of people were bathing near the Bara Dari as well.

However, the police did not arrest anyone for swimming or stop them from bathing. In fact the Shahdara SHO was oblivious to the imposition of Section 144 on swimming in River Ravi.

CCPO Chaudhry Zulfiqar Hameed said, “Expecting the police to take care of everything, from maintaining law and order, controlling crime, monitoring Ramazan Bazaars and now saving people from drowning was asking too much. It is not just the city government’s job. It is the responsibility of the children’s families who allow their children to go swimming in these areas.”

Published in The Express Tribune, July 8^th, 2014.