In the wake of the recent incident of drowning of a five-year-old boy from Bengaluru in a pool at Varca based hotel, the Hon’ble Commission calls for Review and Revision of Safety Standards at Swimming Pools/Guest Houses/Theme Parks in Goa. It may be also noted that since 2017, there has been six such deaths of children in swimming pools of hotels/guest houses in Goa as listed below:
- December 2017 – A minor boy of four years drowned in guest house in Candolim.
- April 2017 – A 17-year-old minor girl from Tumkur drowned in the swimming pool of the hotel near Colva beach.
- May 2017 – A four-year-old girl from Shahajanpur, Uttar Pradesh, drowned in a swimming pool of a hotel in Calangute.
- June 2018 – A 9-year-old boy from Delhi drowns in swimming pool of hotel in Calangute.
- November 2022 – Six-year-old boy from Mumbai drowns in swimming pool while allegedly playing at a hotel in Candolim.
- April 2023 – a five-year-old boy from Bengaluru in a pool at Varca based hotel.
It is very tragic to lose so many children to such a preventable cause of death. The deaths are appearing to be due to a failure of adequate provision of safety by the hotels/guest houses/theme parks and/or a transition lapse in parenting by the visiting tourist.
It is required of the Goa Tourism department to promote responsible tourism and ensure safety of tourist, including children. All such establishments have a duty to exercise “reasonable care” for the safety and security of their guests, including children. The establishments must maintain all areas, including pools, in a reasonably safe condition and warn of possible dangers to children.
Further, such establishments must be held liable for negligence if their pool areas fail to comply with safety laws and requirements, including having appropriate safety equipment available, including lifeguard to watch over minors.
The Hon’ble Commission recommends Department of Tourism for reviewing and revising security measures and enforcing higher safety standards with the following actions with regards to safety of children:
- All establishments with swimming pools and theme parks with pools must have an adequate number of trained lifeguards available whenever they are operational. At other times, there should be no access to the water.
- Children less than seven years of age should routinely be offered well-fitting lifeguard approved flotation devices and jackets.
Peter F. Borges, Chairperson, Goa SCPCR