Kolkata, 14 August 2026: In Kolkata—a city celebrated for its culture, compassion and long history of public action—the eve of India’s 80th Independence Day carried another powerful call for freedom: freedom from preventable drowning deaths.
The Child in Need Institute (CINI) organised a street-corner drama and practical CPR demonstration at an open public space beside the historic New Market in central Kolkata on Friday. Through theatre and live demonstrations, the programme showed how awareness, safe rescue, timely CPR and prompt medical referral can save lives during drowning emergencies.
Kolkata has always transformed its streets and public spaces into platforms for ideas, movements and social change. On Friday, the heart of the city became an open classroom for life-saving knowledge. The programme communicated key messages aligned with the Government of India’s Strategic Framework for Drowning Prevention, taking national policy directly to the public.
With strategic and technical support from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), a global leader in lifesaving and drowning prevention, CINI has trained more than 8,000 people across West Bengal in drowning response and CPR. This has created a growing pool of trained community responders and frontline workers capable of acting during the critical first few minutes of an emergency.
“True independence means ensuring that every child has the freedom to grow, thrive and return home safely. This Independence Day, let us pledge to support the Government’s efforts to build an India free from preventable child deaths, including drowning. A Viksit Bharat must also be a Surakshit Bharat for every child,” said Sujoy Roy, Lead – Injury Prevention & National Advocacy, CINI.
Participants respectfully carried the National Flag as part of the Har Ghar Tiranga campaign, while members of the public joined the awareness initiative and took photographs with the Tiranga. The coming together of patriotism, street theatre and life-saving education drew attention to drowning as an urgent but often overlooked public-health concern.
Friday’s programme formed part of CINI’s month-long World Drowning Prevention Day campaign, “Unite to Turn the Tide.” CINI stressed that drowning prevention cannot remain confined to conferences and technical discussions. Practical knowledge must reach markets, schools, neighbourhoods and vulnerable communities, enabling ordinary citizens to become an important link in the survival chain.
From the heart of Kolkata, the message was clear: This Independence Day, let us celebrate freedom—and work together for an India free from preventable drowning.
