Mumbai: 45 fishermen form Vashi police’s team of suicide repellants

The Vashi creek bridge, which connects Navi Mumbai and Mankhurd, has seen scores of sucide attempts over the years. Pics/Rajesh Gupta

One may be tempted to call the Vashi bridge, connecting Navi Mumbai and Mankhurd, a suicide magnet considering the number of people who attempt to end their lives there, but a handful of individuals and cops are putting up spirited efforts to save it from infamy. As they wait for a favourable response to their requests for safety nets on both sides of the bridge, the Vashi police have formed a team of 45 fishermen from Vashi Gaon for rescue operations.

Mahesh Sutar is the star of the 45-member team of fishermen. He has saved 30 people from certain death so far

The heroes of the group are Mahesh Sutar who has saved over 30 lives so far, with his latest success being on Tuesday, and two others. Sutar, 37, has also fished out about 45 bodies from the creek. The team of fishermen - Sagrik Rakshak Dal - patrols the area to keep an eye on suspicious elements. Sutar said he has to act between 5 and 10 minutes. "This work is like touch-and-go. The more time we take to reach the drowning person, less chances of him surviving. Except for a couple of instances, I have saved all the lives for which I had received calls from the police" he said.

Dattatray Bhoir

At 10.25 pm on Tuesday, the Navi Mumbai police control room was alerted about a man in his 20s jumping off the Vashi bridge. The control room informed the Vashi police, who relayed the message to Sutar. The fisherman rushed to the spot with his friend Abhishek Jaiswal with their boat and rescued the man. "The man was trying to swim which allowed him to stay afloat for 10 minutes. Otherwise, he would have drowned. Most people who don't get saved within 5 to 10 minutes die," said Sutar. "Last month I saved a 47-year-old woman after she fell into the creek. She called my family to her home for lunch as I refused to take reward money. She tied rakhi on my hand for saving her life. Such things do boost morale." he added.

Dattatray Bhoir, 50, who has been venturing into the sea since he was 10, is proud of Sutar. He said they witness suicide attempts every two to three days. "Many of them go untraced as their family register missing complaints and their whereabouts don't get established. Still many of the fishermen fish out bodies whenever they find one. In my 40 years of sea life, I have come across hundreds of suicide attempts of which many were saved and some lost their lives. I have stopped the count now. Now, Mahesh does this job without any hesitation," he said.

Sanjeev Dhumal, senior inspector of Vashi Police station said five people leapt from the bridge in the first 21 days of this year and all except one were saved. He said, "It's only because of alert citizens who report it to control rooms and the fishermen who risk their lives we have managed to save hundreds of lives. On the other hand, since the past 5 years we have been writing letters to authorities concerned for safety nets on the bridge. But we haven't received any positive response."