FROM October to May every year, the white sands of the Ganges get a dash of colour as more and more tents join the campsites. Rafting in the Ganges that began as an amateur hobby ten years has grown into an Rs 150-crore annual big business. But safety measures have not kept pace with the boom and the number of accidents has gone up — three rafting enthusiasts have died in the past two years on the river.

But finally, the industry is taking notice, prompted largely by the initiative of two adventure tourism entrepreneurs. Amit Singh and Sacchidanand Swami, both computer professionals who left Delhi and their careers six years ago to start a rafting company, held a four-day workshop on white water rescue, perhaps the first in India. The workshop on first aid and cardio-pulmonary respiration ended on Thursday.

“We had been thinking about holding a safety training workshop since most of the adventure sports enthusiasts and people involved in white water rafting didn’t know much about rescue and first aid in case of an emergency,” says Singh, director of Katabatic River Explorers. It was difficult to convince sponsors about a training that seemed boring to many. “But what got it going was the spirit of adventure enthusiasts who contributed to arrange the training workshop,” Swami adds.

They succeeded in roping in First Aid International and Rescue 3 International — reputed international companies in first aid and white water rescue — to lend their expertise to the workshop. Dr Bobby Dewan of First Aid International and Chandra Ale of Rescue 3 International, practically trained 30 participants in various aspects of first aid and white water rescue.

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