At Aksa danger continues, as usual

Aksa Beach continues to claim the lives of leisure swimmers. Yet, seemingly oblivious to the dangers the beach poses — in the form of quicksand and currents — people still flock to its dangerous shores to swim and picnic. Speak Up went down to the scene of many a tragedy and found an air of ambivalence, among both the locals and tourists

We come their rescue
Iwas witness to the unfortunate incident that took place on Sunday.

There are many families and young kids who come here, usually on weekends. Whenever such incidents take place, we the villagers are the first ones to come to their rescue.

Lifeguards are not there the whole time and we end up usually trying and saving them by using ropes and tyres.

We then take them to the nearest hospital and if it is a police case then we have to rush them all the way to Bhagwati hospital at Borivali.
Dashrath Thakur

Never leave kids alone
I have been living in Aksa village for the past 18 years now.
Over the years I have noticed that there are fewer people coming to the beach to swim and to picnic. However, I wouldn't like it if the beach were closed. The condition of the beach is at its worst during the rainy season; especially the island area.

Only those who know swimming should go into the water. For the others it can be very dangerous. And parents should never leave their kids alone.
Mustafa Sheikh

Parents should be careful
Istay at Thakur Village and make it a point to come here at least once in a year. I feel that though the beach is a little unsafe the clean area and peaceful surroundings is what attracts us to it.

A lot of children try and venture into the water, as they are not aware of the dangers. Parents should be very careful with them. And one of the main things is to employ more lifeguards and police around the area. Though it remains a good picnic spot it is not popular with families as they feel unsafe.
Supriya Phadnis

I have saved 27 people
Iam a temporary lifeguard here. I went through several training tests to become a lifeguard. However, I couldn't be there on Sunday as I work on an afternoon shift. Aksa is a beautiful place and I have been working here for the past year.  I have saved over 27 people till now. However, when these young boys come to the beach they act very irresponsible and don't listen to us. We give them warnings but some of them just won't listen. The rush is more on weekends so we have to be more careful. We make sure we can assure them the best safety measures.
Sunil Gaikwad

Why are people so afraid?
We would really love to go into the water. We have even got our swimsuits. But our parents usually tell us not to go inside.

I don't know why they are so scared about this beach. They usually take us to Juhu or Versova. We have a lot of fun there. I love this beach as it is very clean and there is so much space to run around. It is cleaner than any other Mumbai beach. We will come here with our friends once we grow up. I hope the beach remains as clean as it is now.
Harpreet and Yashika Gulati

We just might drown
We were aware of the beach having quicksand. So we decided to go for a picnic to Madh rather than Aksa as we knew it wouldn't be very safe here. We just decided to drop by today as it was close by.

Even our parents won't allow us to come here with friends. We might just end up swimming and drowning.

This is known to be a dangerous place and more safety measures need to be undertaken to protect people here. The signboards are not placed at noticeable positions.
Priyanka Kapoor

Be more responsible
I don't think Aksa should be shut down under any circumstances. Though I know that many unfortunate incidents take place, we need to be more careful and care for our lives.

So also the lifeguards need to be a little more responsible. Maybe they should wear bright red or something so that they are easily noticeable.

Especially in the rainy season they should be around all the while. There should even be police around the area as many men get drunk in the night and we girls feel unsafe.
Joshina Kapoor

Out-of-towners are ignorant of danger
I have heard about the quicksand at Aksa beach. There is no security here.
Most of the visitors here have come from out of the city. They do not know about the accidents that take place on this beach.

The civic authorities should spread awareness about the quicksand problem. Families come to Aksa for picnics. Most of them come here for the first time, so they don't know about the dangerous currents either. I never venture into the water. It is a risk I certainly don't want to take.
Debargha Das

The beach should be kept open
I have come here for the third time, but have never heard about the accidents that take place here. No one even warned me about the dangerous quicksand in this area. Aksa is a very beautiful and clean beach. It cannot be shut down simply because of the accidents that have taken place. The BMC should inform visitors about the danger. People should not allowed to go into the water.

The coast guard should come forward to help citizens too. There should be at least five lifeguards here.
Ravi Shankar

There is a sense of danger
I have come here with my family. I don't leave my kids alone in the water. It is a little dangerous when the tide is high.

But I do believe everyone here is having a good time. Also, this is one of Mumbai's cleanest picnic spots. I've read the warning messages around the beach area.
 
There is a sense of danger here. However, although everyone reads the warning signs, they still venture into the sea. People should be educated about the dangers of going into the deep sea. Aksa is certainly not the safest of beaches.
Vijay Malvankar