The issue of safety at water bodies was considered at the Government session chaired by Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov. The Minister for Emergency Situations Chingis Arinov reported on preventive measures during the bathing season, and reports were also made by the Ministers of Internal Affairs, Education and Transport,El.kz cites primeminister.kz.
As of today, 42 rescue posts at water reservoirs are functioning in the country to ensure safety during the summer period. Next year, the construction of 3 modular stations on lakes Shalkar, Imantau, as well as in the city of Kosshi will be completed. In addition, mobile posts equipped with boats and rescue equipment have been formed. The Ministry for Emergency Situations together with akimats is working systematically to increase the number of places authorised for bathing and recreation. Today, 708 such locations have been equipped across the country, and data on the location of beaches are posted on the 2GIS platform. As part of preventive measures to control water safety, including the suppression of alcohol consumption on the shores of water bodies, water areas are patrolled. Since the beginning of the year more than 26 thousand raids have been organised, about 3 thousand violators have been brought to responsibility.
Special attention during the Government session was paid to the issue of children's recreation, organised in close proximity to water bodies. Monitoring groups checked 31 country camps with access to water and 127 recreation centres equipped with their own swimming pools. According to statistics, every year about 100 out of about 200-300 people drowned at water bodies of the republic are children. Prime Minister instructed regional akimats to strengthen preventive measures to ensure safety on water, including by increasing the number of patrols. To improve the efficiency of work it is also important to adopt new technologies that allow to monitor the situation in real time remotely. Last year, thanks to the measures taken, the number of casualties fell by 6 per cent.
"In the cities of Almaty and Pavlodar, a system of remote monitoring has been tested in pilot mode, allowing to determine the boundaries of the swim and early detection of drowning. In the Aktobe region, a project of an interactive buoy has been developed, allowing a drowning person to signal for help through a button on it. In this regard, regional akimats need to study this experience and use it. It is necessary to work out the issue of installing surveillance cameras and relevant software on beaches," Olzhas Bektenov stressed, noting the need to further intensify work on attracting public lifeguards.
In addition to large bodies of water, ditches and irrigation canals are dangerous, emphasised Head of the Government Olzhas Bektenov. Cases of death of children are registered mainly in the southern regions of Kazakhstan in Almaty, Zhambyl, Kyzylorda and Turkestan regions. Prime Minister instructed Akimats to solve the problem of improvement of engineering structures by installing fences. In addition, it is important to check the safety of city fountains.
In the issue of operation of small vessels it is necessary to ensure strict control. The use of faulty water transport often causes tragedies. As of today, over 19 thousand vessels are registered in Kazakhstan, more than 90% of which are self-propelled.