More than 1000 people drown in Kerala each year, 3 in a day: Muralee Thummarukudy

Alappuzha: The Facebook post by UN Disaster Management Committee chairman Muralee Thummarukudy regarding the number of people who drown in Kerala reveals shocking details. The post was shared on social media after actor Anil Nedumangad drowned in Malangara dam.

Muralee Thummarukudy pointed out that after road accidents, more number of people die due to drowning in the state. As per the statistics of National Crime Records Bureau, 1,490 people drowned from 1,452 incidents in 2019.

He points out that around 3 people drown in Kerala every day.

The gravity of this disaster is often overlooked due to the failure to codify such incidents in the state. In the case of road accidents, insurance and vehicles are involved which leads to courts, cases and compensation. However, the absence of this system prevents the real data on drowning deaths to be published.

Muralee Thummarukudy pointed out that the lack of a comprehensive water security plan is the basis for all such tragedies.

In a study conducted by the family medicine department of MIMS hospital among the school students in Malabar region, it was found that only 342 out of the total 8,433 students were aware of death caused by drowning. The study was held among students between 5 and 15 years of age. Minister C Raveendranath had proposed that swimming should be included as part of the school curriculum. Apart from this, a swimming pool was proposed to be constructed in one school of each Assembly constituency. However, the pandemic has affected the implementation of these plans.