69 additional lifeguards to keep Mumbai’s beaches safer

A proposal to sanction the appointment of the agency has been tabled at the standing committee which is scheduled for Wednesday.

In order to increase safety at the city’s beaches, the Mumbai Fire Brigade has roped in a private entity to provide 69 additional lifeguards. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will depute these lifeguards to protect six beaches in the city. The private entity has been hired on a three-year contract period for a cost of nearly ₹13 crore.

Juhu Beach has only two to three lifeguards to keep watch at any given time. (HT Photo)

A proposal to sanction the appointment of the agency has been tabled at the standing committee which is scheduled for Wednesday.

Currently, there are 24 contractual and 11 permanent lifeguards deployed at city beaches who work for the BMC. The fire brigade will hire the additional 69 lifeguards on a contractual basis.

“One of our conditions in the tenders was for the agency to include our 24 contractual lifeguards on their payroll. This is to ensure that they are not left jobless after we outsource additional lifeguards. The 11 permanent lifeguards will also act as supervisors to keep a check on the work of the additional lifeguards,” said a senior fire official.

The lifeguards will be posted at Dadar, Girgaum, Versova, Juhu, Aksa, and Gorai beaches. The civic body has been under fire in the past for having only 35 lifeguards at these six beaches. Juhu, one of the most crowded beaches in the city, had only two to three lifeguards in one shift. Once the new decision is implemented, the city’s beaches will have a total of 104 lifeguards.