Chennai: About 24 persons killed themselves in the sea off the Marina and Elliot's beaches in 2010 while 61 others died of accidental drowning, city police records have revealed.
The follow-up investigation in these cases revealed that the death of 24 persons in the year was not accidental but that they had entered the sea to kill themselves. Police sources said the conclusion was reached after verification with the families of the drowned persons and that in many of them the police had reportedly picked up suicide notes also.
There was a more than four-fold increase in the number of drowning cases off the Marina and Elliot's in 2010 when compared to the cases in 2009 — 20 in 2009 and 85 in 2010 — as per police records. The police said they had taken efforts to bring down the number of drownings after a media outcry over such incidents off the Marina and Elliot's beaches. There was also some contradiction with regard to the number of drowning cases. A board put up by the police on the Marina showed that nearly 1,600 people had drowned in 2007. Soon it was clarified that the number was for the entire state and not for city alone.
Although, the scare created by this board and the subsequent media coverage forced the police to pull up their socks and some efforts were initiated to prevent people from bathing in the treacherous sea off the beaches. As a result the number of deaths came down considerably in 2009, with 20 deaths being recorded.
The number of drowning cases went up last year. Despite repeated requests by regular beach-goers, fully-trained lifeguards are yet to be provided at the Marina and Elliot's Beaches. Presently, the police chase away people trying to take a bath but the resource-strapped force doesn't have many to depute for regular patrolling.
"Most of the time all the staff in our station, except for the station writers, are on the street for VVIP bandobasth.
The follow-up investigation in these cases revealed that the death of 24 persons in the year was not accidental but that they had entered the sea to kill themselves. Police sources said the conclusion was reached after verification with the families of the drowned persons and that in many of them the police had reportedly picked up suicide notes also.
There was a more than four-fold increase in the number of drowning cases off the Marina and Elliot's in 2010 when compared to the cases in 2009 — 20 in 2009 and 85 in 2010 — as per police records. The police said they had taken efforts to bring down the number of drownings after a media outcry over such incidents off the Marina and Elliot's beaches. There was also some contradiction with regard to the number of drowning cases. A board put up by the police on the Marina showed that nearly 1,600 people had drowned in 2007. Soon it was clarified that the number was for the entire state and not for city alone.
Although, the scare created by this board and the subsequent media coverage forced the police to pull up their socks and some efforts were initiated to prevent people from bathing in the treacherous sea off the beaches. As a result the number of deaths came down considerably in 2009, with 20 deaths being recorded.
The number of drowning cases went up last year. Despite repeated requests by regular beach-goers, fully-trained lifeguards are yet to be provided at the Marina and Elliot's Beaches. Presently, the police chase away people trying to take a bath but the resource-strapped force doesn't have many to depute for regular patrolling.
"Most of the time all the staff in our station, except for the station writers, are on the street for VVIP bandobasth.
How can we have a dedicated team for patrolling alone?" said a policeman attached to the Marina station. They say it is practically impossible to chase away all those trying to take a bath in the sea.
At the Elliot's beach, the police introduced an all-terrain bike a couple of months ago to chase away people trying to enter the sea but its efficiency is yet to be assessed.
