The Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights has directed that steps be taken to include training in swimming in the school curriculum and to provide all students with swimming lessons.
Acting on a petition from Amal Shaji, State ambassador of the Rakshak project, child rights commission member K. Nazeer has issued the direction to the General Education Secretary and the Director of General Education.
The commission said owners should ensure that ponds and pools on private property were safe by walling or fencing them. It directed the Local Self-government Secretary, Urban Affairs Director, and the Panchayat Director to issue directions to local self-government institutions to ensure that private property owners were following the direction.
‘Put up signage’
The Revenue Secretary was asked to take steps to fill unused public wells on revenue land and build protection walls for other public wells. Ponds or other waterbodies on public land should be fenced or signage warning of danger should be put up. Similar directions were also issued to Local Self-government Department authorities in connection with public wells and ponds under their jurisdiction.
Swimming pools and water harvesting arrangements on house premises should be fenced to ensure safety of children. Local self-government institutions should ensure this before approving the final plan, the commission said. Provisions regarding this should be incorporated into the Kerala Municipality Building Rules and the Kerala Panchayat Building Rules of 2019 or orders, it said.
‘Issue guidelines’
In his petition, Amal Shaji said the instances of children losing their lives or being involved in accidents in waterbodies such as ponds, pools, rivers, and wells were on the rise. Guidelines should be issued to prevent such incidents.
The Urban Affairs Director, in a report to the commission, had said drawing up guidelines would help prevent loss of children’s lives in rivers and other waterbodies. Besides adopting safety measures such as fencing or walling waterbodies and putting up warning signage, including swimming classes for children in the curriculum would help bring down the rate of such accidents.
