Seven drowning deaths over the past month has shaken the administration out of its slumber and plans are now afoot to make Ganga ghats in the state capital safer.

The disaster management department has taken the initiative to carry out the task.

On Thursday, another youth was drowned at one of the Ganga ghats in rural Patna. The incident took place at the Faujdar Singh Ghat under the jurisdiction of Athmalgola police station.

"Our plan entails minimising incidents of drowning. It would be ready within a month following which the plan would be forwarded for government approval," said Anirudh Kumar, the special secretary with the department.

Department officials pointed out that they would coordinate with the district administration towards identifying ghats, which are frequented by people and accordingly, security measures would be undertaken for safety of the people.

"Police teams would be deployed at risky ghats. The cops would patrol ghats and keep tabs on those wading into the river. Barricades would be put up along ghats to prevent people from entering deeper water. Signboards and caution signs would be set up at different points of the ghats, warning people about the danger. These are just some of the ideas, which can be implemented without much delay and the department would undertake the same in coordination with the local administration in Patna. Similarly, the other districts, which face the same problem, would be included," said another department official.

Altogether there are more than 70 ghats in Patna and people use a majority of them every day for bathing and washing clothes.

"There are many ghats in Patna town, Patna City and the rural areas. People, mostly those living in the rural areas, use them. Till now, there has not been a proper system to monitor the activities at the ghats round-the-clock and the administration starts concentrating on them a month before Chhath. On normal days, the ghats are left unattended," said a district administration official.

An official in the department said more than a thousand youths in Patna had been trained in diving and swimming and their services would be taken in the hour of need.