Goa's answer to 'Baywatch' unveiled

First, the good news for bathers on the notoriously treacherous beaches off Goa in southern India: women lifeguards have been hired.

Now the really good news: they won't be Baywatch-style bikini-clad posers, but, in the words of a state tourism official, hardy types from the local fishing community who regularly pull heavy boats and nets. "These are not," said Fatima D'sa, "women anyone can misbehave with."

They will, however, wear one-piece bathing costumes, a rare sight in conservative India where women commonly wear saris when they take a dip in the sea. The guards will also be fully trained in resuscitation and life-saving techniques, and have a good knowledge of the local tides.

The female lifeguards are part of a batch of 100 newly appointed life-savers. These skills are sorely needed. More than 200 people have drowned in the Arabian Sea off Goa over the past four years. In 2006 alone, 45 people drowned, six of them on a single day last month.

Goa, a former Portuguese colony, has a large Christian population - unlike most of India, which is mostly Hindu. The area's white-sand beaches are probably best known to Westerners as a stop on the old hippie trail. Goa remains popular with backpackers, as do its drug-infused beach parties. More than two million tourists throng its beaches each year.