Pune administration issues guidelines for tourists after Lonavala waterfall tragedy

Pune: A day after a woman and four children were swept away at a waterfall near Bhushi Dam in Lonavala, the Pune district administration on Monday issued guidelines for tourists in view of the monsoon.

Collector Suhas Divase instructed authorities to conduct a survey to identify potential hazards and ensure necessary measures for safety of tourists visiting Maval, Mulshi, Khed, Junnar, Bhhor, Velha and Ambegaon, which are located in the Western Ghats, an official said.

Divase instructed district officials to visit picnic spots such as rivers, lakes, dams, waterfalls, forts and forests areas and ensure safety measures. He directed to demarcate prohibited areas by installing warning boards. “Those places which are disaster-prone and where the safety measures cannot be taken must be shut for tourists,” he said.

“A lot of people come to Bhushi, Pavana, Lonavala, Sinhgad, Malshej and Tamhini ghat during the monsoon. Agencies like revenue, forest, railways, municipal corporations and PWD should deploy divers, rescue boats, life guards, life jackets at water bodies which are frequented by tourists. Divase also asked the district administration to rope in NGOs, rescue foundations, trekkers and locals,” he added.

Visitors will not be allowed inside such spots in the forest after 6pm, Divase said.