The BMC is testing a remote-operated lifeguard that is meant to rescue swimmers in distress as far as 2 km into the sea. A trial run was conducted at Juhu beach on Monday, said officials. “We conducted demonstrations with BMC officials at Juhu beach twice today—once during low tide in the morning and then during high tide in the evening,” said local MLA Ameet Satam.

Deputy Municipal Commissioner Vishwas Shankarwar also oversaw the trial. “We will hold discussions with experts and the Mumbai Fire Brigade about the usefulness of this equipment. After getting their opinion, we will take the final decision,” said a civic official. Saif Automations Services, which has built the remote controlled lifebuoy, refers to it as a water drone.  “This will serve as secondary equipment in rescue operations,” said Chetan Shah, the company representative.

“In cases of drowning, which usually happens around 50 to 100 meters into the sea, a lifeguard needs to get inside the water to reach the person in distress. All this takes a few minutes. But this machine can cover a distance of 60 meters in 30 seconds,” Shah added. The water drone costs around Rs 6-Rs 6.5 lakh. “The machine can carry one person back to shore at a time, but it can keep two-three people afloat until lifeguards reach them. We demonstrated this today,” Shah said.

“The drone is not dependent on the Internet or any tower signal. This is particularly helpful because, in the event of a cyclone or earthquake, there will be network issues. We work on free radio frequency. The drone once thrown on a water surface can go at a speed of 7 knots (i.e. 14 metres per second). No human can match this speed,” Shah said. According to Shah, the remote operator should have the skills to dodge waves, as the buoy tumbles hit by waves. At present, there are 94 lifeguards for beaches at Girgaon, Dadar-Mahim, Juhu, Aksa and Gorai, said civic officials.

Rs 6.5 lakh
Cost of a water drone

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