Calling themselves the Miramar Baywatch Association (MBA), residents of Panaji will pool in money to hire lifeguards to rescue drowning picnickers on the state's beaches. According to Anand Madgaonkar, ad-hoc president, MBA, the body aims to enrol 1,000 life members who will pay Rs 1,000 each. ``The money will be invested in fixed deposits and the proceeds used to pay the salaries of two lifeguards,'' Madgaonkar told The Indian Express.

MBA's pilot project, which will be kicked off later this month to coincide with the summer vacation, will initially concentrate on the capital's beach at Miramar. The Baywatch programme will subsequently be extended to popular beaches in the state like Colva, Baga and Calangute with the cooperation of hotels and the travel trade,Madgaonkar said.

To begin with, the MBA will identify a short stretch of the beach which will be patrolled intensively by the lifeguards. Experienced swimmers may however, go beyond the protected zone,'' Madgaonkar said. According to him, the association will also assist the local self-government bodies clean up the beaches. ``We shall also organise activities like beach volleyball to help public commitment to the beaches,'' he added. Madgaonkar feels that such sports and a catchy name like `Baywatch' tagged to the body would help draw younger persons to the MBA.

In the past three years, more than 150 persons have drowned off the state's beaches. The majority of the deaths have been reported from Calangute, Colva and Miramar. Most of the victims happen to be domestic tourists without enough knowledge of swimming or those who take to the sea under the influence of alcohol.

The Panaji bench of the Bombay High Court is currently hearing a petition on the safety off Goa's beaches. Submission by the stategovernment before the court has revealed that lack of adequate funds has prevented the deployment of more lifeguards on the beaches.

Lifeguards deployed by the voluntary organisation will also be trained on reviving persons rescued from the sea before being taken to hospital. ``Many of them die on the way to hospital because they were carried wrongly by their rescuers,'' Madgaonkar said.