With the onset of warm weather, residents and guests of our town go out into the countryside in their free time, to water bodies, to relax and regain their strength amidst nature.

With the onset of warm weather, residents and guests of our town go out into the countryside in their free time, to water bodies, to relax and regain their strength amidst nature. Often, citizens relaxing forget about water safety measures, which leads to tragic consequences.

In 2019, 63 people died in water bodies in the region, 15 while swimming, 13 from falling into water, including: 51 men, 7 women, and 5 minors. In 2020, 13 people drowned in water bodies.

In the Lepel district in 2020, no citizens drowned in water bodies.

To ensure the protection of public order, personal and property safety of citizens in places of mass recreation, children's camps, and to prevent deaths in water and fires in forests and peatlands, and to have a real impact on the operational situation, the internal affairs department of the Lepel District Executive Committee deploys police patrols in places of mass recreation to ensure that nothing disturbs people's rest. The appearance of a police officer in uniform in places of mass recreation makes holidaymakers more disciplined, which reduces the risk of accidents. The measures taken to ensure public order in places of mass recreation are aimed at reducing the risk of accidents and various offenses against holidaymakers.

In this regard, we would like to clarify the following: recreation areas, forests, riverbanks, lakes, beaches, etc., are public places during citizens' recreation. Administrative responsibility will arise when drinking alcoholic and low-alcohol beverages occurs in the presence of citizens. Do not forget about responsibility for violating environmental safety regulations and the order of nature management, as well as fire safety.

The appearance in public places in a state of intoxication that(clothing), causing disgust and aversion.

For lawless citizens, there are liability measures for committing administrative offences: drinking alcoholic, low-alcohol beverages or beer in a public place or appearing in a public place in a state of intoxication (Art. 17.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Republic of Belarus) shall incur a fine of up to 8 basic units, in case of repeated commission within a year – from 2 to 15 basic units or administrative arrest; lighting fires in prohibited places (Art. 15.58 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Republic of Belarus) – a warning or a fine of up to 12 basic units; pollution of forests and other woody and shrubby vegetation by citizens (Art. 15.30 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Republic of Belarus) – a warning or a fine of up to 20 basic units, for an entrepreneur up to 50 basic units, swimming in prohibited places (Art. 23.63 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Republic of Belarus) from 1 to 3 basic units.

For 3 months of the current year, 134 citizens have been prosecuted for appearing in public places while drunk (2019 – 241) and 8 citizens have been brought to administrative responsibility for drinking alcoholic beverages in public places (2019 – 5), of which 4 people (2019 – 8) for drinking low-alcohol beverages and beer.

It is dangerous to swim while intoxicated, in prohibited and unassigned places, to go sailing on a faulty or unequipped boat, to sit on its sides, to move from one place to another or from one boat to another while moving.

One should swim no earlier than 1.5 – 2 hours after a meal.

Those who cannot swim are not allowed to use boats, inflatable devices, or other items not equipped with special swimming aids.

Swimming alone, at night, or in rough seas is prohibited.

Do not jump into the water in places with unknown depth and bottom relief.

Do not swim far from the shore, assess your strength.

Do not leave children unattended near water bodies.

Do not jump into the water from dams, piers, boats, or vessels;

Do not give false distress signals;

Do not use boards, logs, inflatable mattresses, car inner tubes, and other auxiliary means for swimming;

Lack of parental supervision leads to the loss of their children. It should be remembered that water does not forgive carelessness.

To avoid accidents and the loss of your loved ones and children, please observe the above rules and measures.

water safety. In case of emergencies, you can report them to the police by calling 102, the Ministry of Emergency Situations rescue service by calling 101, or an ambulance by calling 103.

Head of the Law and Order Protection and Prevention Department of the Lepel District Department of Internal Affairs

Police Lieutenant Colonel I.A. Mikhno

Chairman of the Lepel District Organization of the Belarusian Voluntary Society for the Rescue of People on Water (OSVOD) R.P. Stripeikis