BHUBANESWAR: In an attempt to save lives of the persons who do not know swimming, the Forum for Smart Citizens will demonstrate the technique of floating in water without taking breathing control measures on the occasion of World Drowning Prevention Day 2022 on July 25.
Forum for Smart Citizens, Centre for Youth and Social Development (CYSD), Indo German Focal Point and Sankalp have decided to launch a campaign to reduce drowning deaths in Odisha. Forum for Smart Citizens member and aqua trainer Ashok Baral will demonstrate the technique of floating in water to Odisha Fire Service and ODRAF personnel on Monday as part of this year's theme, 'Do one thing to prevent drowning'.
"A person who does not know how to swim and is not even having a life jacket can save his/her life in water by simply keeping the nose and mouth afloat. If someone falls in water, he/she will immediately rise to the surface due to the buoyant force. A person who cannot swim should ensure to keep the forehead parallel to the surface water to avoid drowning," said Baral.
However, this technique is not applicable in turbulent waters. In the first phase, the technique will be demonstrated to fire personnel as they are among the first responders in case of an emergency. The fire personnel can demonstrate the technique to the youths in the block level in the coming days to save precious lives, he added.
The programme will be held at Biju Patnaik Swimming Pool-cum-Sports Complex at Kalinga Stadium here on Monday in the presence of DG Fire Service Santosh Kumar Upadhyay and Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Police Commissioner SK Priyadarshi.
Forum for Smart Citizen member Bijaya Kumar Pattnaik, CYSD co-founder Jagadananda and others were present. As per Special Relief Commissioner’s office, every year about 431 people are losing their lives in Odisha due to drowning. Last year, Bangladesh co-sponsored a United Nations General Assembly resolution designating July 25 as World Drowning Prevention Day, to be observed annually.