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Life-saving techniques, Rashtriya life Saving
Society shows the way.
 19th
November 97 is a day Rear Admiral PD Sharma (
Retd.) recalls with sadness. That unfortunate
day, 30 school children drowned in the Yamuna,
when their school bus plunged into the river from
Wazirabad Bridge in New Delhi. In Delhi on that
day, what the Rear Admiral saw on TV and the newspapers
horrified him. "There were pictures of
limp bodies of children being carried, bodies
lined up on the ground, but no one made any effort
to revive a child," he says sadly and continues,"
Artificial respiration or mouth to mouth resuscitation
was not done because no one knew how to go about
it. If it were executed, at least 50% of the dead
would have survived," he adds ruefully
Having realized the importance of life-saving
techniques, Rear Admiral Sharma, who was a member
of The Indian Maritime Foundation in Pune volunteered
to take care of an important aspect of maritime
work, namely, ' Life Saving'. Rashtriya Life Saving
Society (India) was launched in 1998 and
commenced lifesaving training, starting with military
establishments and Clubs. The RLSS is the Indian
chapter of the Royal Life Saver's Society, an
international organisation with branches in 50
countries, dedicated to saving human lives in
accident situations and providing training in
life-saving techniques.
When a couple of drowning cases took place in
the city public pools two summers ago, Admiral
Sharma started a diatribe with the PMC on the
issue of safety. However, it took the PMC a year-and-a-half
to finally accede to his demands. A result of
this sustained dialogue was a venture, in collaboration
with the PMC, on an experimental basis. The RLSS
was handed over charge of a swimming pool in Wanowrie.
The pool, which now doubles as a swimming and
life-saving training centre (SLTC), offers a course
in swimming to which the RLSS have included practical
lessons in life-saving techniques and administration
of first aid.
Admiral Sharma advises, " One should not
waste time in removing water from the victim's
stomach. One needs to get him to breathe
quickly through EAR (Expired Air Resuscitation),
that is 'Mouth to mouth breathing' & CPR (Cardiopulmonary
Resuscitation) or 'Chest Compressions', a technique
that has to be learnt and mastered to be effective."
 Thanks
to the perseverance of Admiral Sharma, there now
exists an institute where the techniques could
be mastered.
Anyone passing out of this centre would be regarded
as a certified first-aid administrator and a lifesaver
and will also hold a membership card to the RLSS.
The pool presently has four lifeguards who double
as trainers. Part of the training apparatus is
a rubber mannequin on which the techniques are
demonstrated. The poolside walls have step-by-step
illustrations on the techniques used to save a
drowning person. The members have to undergo a
complete medical check-up before joining, and
no learner can venture into the pool without a
'buddy' or a trainer.
Since its inception, the RLSS has conducted numerous
demonstrations in lifesaving and has set up training
centres in Pune and Vishakhapatnam. It plans to
progressively reach every district of the country
with its lifesaving programmes. Membership to
RLSS is open to persons from the age of ten to
fifty years.
Admiral Sharma's persistence and compelling desire
to impart training in life -saving techniques
is indeed notable. Thanks to him, Parents will
gladly send their wards to learn swimming; afterall
there is nothing to fear, when Uncle Sharma's
near.
Address-RASHTRIYA LIFE SAVING SOCIETY (INDIA),
Gulmohar Cottages, 8/103 Viman Nagar, PUNE 411014
Phone- 6631790
By Rahul Surkund
Photo-Courtesy RLSS, INDIA
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