GUNTUR: The Summer holidays and simmering heat are driving several youngsters to waterbodies, much to the chagrin of Guntur police and other district authorities. Their concern is not unfounded. For instance, a 17-year-old boy making merry with friends at Chirala beach, drowned while trying to click a selfie on May 20. Authorities have set up signboards at several places, warning of the danger involved.
But students and youngsters are unperturbed, and go swimming without taking enough precautionary measures. Two men, both aged 21, went missing in the sea at Chirala on May 17. Their bodies were washed ashore the next day. Waterbodies have claimed 25 lives till date in the former Guntur district since January 1, 2022. The number, though small now, is of concern when compared with drowning cases reported in the past. As many as 45 people met with a watery bier in 2020, which rose to 56 in 2021.
Most of the victims were in their prime, who had gone swimming for fun and never returned home. After four youngsters died in a quarry at Prathipadu on July 11, and two children died in Dachepalli quarry, officials identified 150 dangerous quarries: 100 in Guntur and the remaining 50 in Dachepalli region. Notices were slapped on those quarry owners, who violated the guidelines o f the Mine s and Geology department.