RLSSI spreads safe swimming mantra

The Rashtriya Life Saving Society India (RLSSI), the Pune based pioneer in life saving and life guarding, celebrated their 10th anniversary by kicking off a two-day workshop for school children, parents and teachers in the city on Saturday.

The RLSSI, which has trained close to 2,000 life guards in the city in the last decade, also has the satisfaction of recording zero deaths in the Pune city pools in the year 2010.

In the ‘swim and survive’ workshop held at the Prabhat road based Tilak tank on day one, schoolchildren and teachers got their first taste of safe swimming under the watchful eyes of Brooke Irvine, general manager, education and training, ‘Life Saving Victoria’, Australia.

Irvine told DNA, “It is my first visit to India. I have heard that the rate of deaths due to drowning in India is high. In Australia, we teach our children to swim at a very young age and we are very conscious about safe swimming norms. Pune has so far been a good learning experience.”

Mahadaji Shinde High School teacher, Suvarna Inarkar was as excited as her students. She told DNA, “Most of our children come from labour background. They were hesitant to register. But for the ten kids who registered, it has been an eye opener.”

Rear Admiral (retd) Purshottam Sharma, founder president RLSSI, told DNA that RLSSI’s target was to spread the message of safe swimming to the masses.

“There should be an academic education in the first aid right from the primary school level,” Sharma said.