the goan I network
PANAJI
With the monsoon season having come to an end and post-monsoon showers receding, Drishti Lifesaving, the state-appointed professional lifeguard agency will resume setting up of safe swim-zones on Goa's beaches from next week.
Starting October 9, all beaches will be open to swimming. Drishti maps the weather and sea conditions each morning and accordingly sets up safe swim zones along the beaches which are manned by the agency," the agency said in a statement.
At the start of the monsoon season, the lifeguard body had issued an advisory instructing visitors to the beach not to venture into the sea during the monsoon months extending from June till the end of September.
Drishti's 600 -strong lifeguard force man Goa's beaches through the year. Most of the beaches across Goa are safe to swim, however, Drishti advises beachgoers and swimmers to adhere to some basic safety measures.
"Swimmers should ideally swim only in the swim zones which are marked with red and yellow flags by the Drishti lifeguards. Non swim zones are marked with red flags and are not meant for swimming. Anjuna however, being a rocky beach does not have a swim zone," Drishti said.
Additionally, there are signage at the entrance of every beach which list down the kinds of flags and what they mean, instructions and safety tips. Drishti lifeguards closely monitor 22 beaches across South Goa and 16 beaches across the North Goa stretch from 7.30 am to 6 pm (until sunset).
Curtains down for Mapusa's iconic Alankar theatre
MAPUSA After El Capitan, another popular cinema hall, was brought down some years ago to make way for a commercial project, Alankar, the only other cinema hall left in Bardez is now out of bounds for movie buffs. The theatre has been shut five months ago with Bahubali being the last movie shown on the big screen in the city. With thick vegetation on one side of the theatre, the area around the cinema hall has now become an open urinal and the steps leading to the theatre, a…
