planning to visit Lonavla

Pune: As the monsoon is here, the crowd of revellers will start flooding the popular dams in Lonavala, giving the local police some sleepless nights. In a bid to bring down the number of drowning cases in the area, the police for the first time has set up a special control room near Bhushi Dam. And even this year, consumption of liquor has been banned around the dam. Besides that, the police has come up with an awareness campaign by putting up boards warning the tourists against such instances. Other than being a popular tourist destination in Lonavla, dams such as Bhushi, Pavana and Mulshi also have the dubious distinction of recording the highest numbers of deaths due to drowning, especially during the monsoon season. Since 2012, 32 deaths have been reported from the dam alone. Topping the list is Bhushi Dam, around 70km from Pune. I.S. Patil, inspector in-charge of Lonavla city police station, said that most of the deaths due to drowning are because of indiscipline and unruliness of the tourists. “During weekends, we deploy more than 200 police personnel in the area. The problem is that the visitors do not pay attention into the instructions given by the police cautioning them against climbing the cliff, which is dangerous. There are several sign boards cautioning visitors not to climb the cliff, but youngsters climb the cliff anyway.” Sub-inspector N.K. Apsunde of Lonavala city police station explained how during heavy rains, the flow of water on the cliff is strong. “But the visitors climb the cliff from the opposite side due to which, many a time, they slip and fall over their heads, resulting in multiple fractures, internal injuries and even deaths. This year, carrying and drinking liquor and smoking in public places and isolated areas in banned,” he said. Mulshi Dam, situated 43km from Pune, has recorded six death in two-and-half years. According to senior inspector of Paud Road police station, Shivshankar Munde, many college-going students visit this place and party late night after getting drunk. “Most of the incidents of drowning happen under the influence of liquor. We have deployed special staff to check cars and bags of the visitors visiting the dam. A total of eight deaths have taken place at Pavana Dam,” he added.