IAS aspirants deaths: Why are over 35,000 people drowning every year in India?

In Focus by The Hindu

The national capital was rocked by student protests last month after three IAS aspirants tragically drowned when the basement library of their coaching centre flooded, following torrential rains. While a police case has been registered and arrests made, the students pointed out that safety norms are routinely violated at coaching centres and stormwater drains in the area were clogged, leading to water inundation. Just this week, a woman and her three-year-old son drowned in a drain in Delhi, again following heavy rains.

India has a massive problem that is not acknowledged or recognised enough: preventable drowning deaths. As per the National Crime Records Bureau’s statistics for 2022, over 38,000 people died in India due to drowning, a little over nine percent of all deaths.

Apart from deaths due to flooding, there are also multiple deaths due to accidental falls into water bodies, due to boats or other vessels capsizing or due to getting washed away in rivers while doing basic household work such as fetching water, washing clothes or bathing.

What is the scenario with regard to drowning in India? Are we doing enough to prevent drowning deaths? What did India’s framework on drowning prevention, released last December say?

Guest: Lopa Ghosh, Senior Communications Advisor at Global Health Advocacy Incubator

Host: Zubeda Hamid

Edited by Jude Francis Weston