Forty-seven students and five teachers of SFX Higher Secondary School at Siolim were stranded at the Charavane waterfall in Sattari on Monday as the water level rose sharply due to the incessant rains in the area. In a 2-hour rescue operation, Fire Services personnel, policemen and forest officials rushed to the area near the waterfall since the swell in water made it seemingly difficult to cross the river. The firemen used ropes and managed to guide all the students and teachers to safety, in what could have been a risky proposition.
While all went fine in the end, the decision of the high secondary to allow students such an adventure when levels in water bodies are high is questionable. Moreover, the trek comes amid steady rainfall with the weathermen predicting heavy rain and upgrading the yellow alert to orange. Moreover, there was a red alert issued for Tuesday and there were no signs that the downpour would abate or water levels recede. In the wake of such a situation, the management of the higher secondary and the principal should have avoided the excursion or probably deferred it to a later date. Academic experiences can always wait if there are risks involved to lives.
While the management and principal may have overlooked the ground situation, or the students, in a state of youthful exuberance may have embarked on the trek throwing caution to the wind, we wonder how authorities failed to enforce the weather warning. Are these weather warnings only for farmers and fishermen?
The incident once again highlights the fact that our systems are not in sync with each other. When there is a weather alert, the forest department should have cut-off entry points to waterfalls and rivers wherever possible. The ban may have been lifted because the monsoon has receded, but occasional downpours do bring in risks, and that is when authorities should be careful.
If we may recall, in early July this year, 70 picnickers were stranded after a deluge at Pali waterfall in Thane-Sattari. The emergency services were activated and people were pulled out of the water in groups with the help of ropes. In October 2022, a tragedy was averted when a cable bridge collapsed at Dudhsagar waterfalls leaving around 40 tourists precariously holding on to a railing till rescue teams arrived. This incident too happened because of a sudden surge in water level.
Departments like forests, fisheries, fire and police should play a more cohesive role during weather warnings. While there may be no ban on visiting waterfalls at this time of the year, authorities need to take a call based on the situation on the ground. A weather warning may not indicate which part of Goa will experience heavy rainfall, but authorities in the area would be in a position to gauge the situation better and they need to act accordingly.
Thankfully, the firemen and other officials have been coming to the rescue, but in such risky situations, there is a thin thread of hope that those stranded hold on to. Time and tide waits for no man, and so goes the adage. Authorities need to work out a mechanism to ensure such liberties are not allowed in future, especially against the risks that are involved.
