KARACHI: The commission on the Seaview beach tragedy has not yet submitted its report to the government fixing responsibility on individuals and organisations, with the result that families of the victims who lost their lives in the incident are still waiting for compensation.

A meeting held at the Commissioner Office on Wednesday and attended by government officials and representatives of various non-governmental organisations raised the issue and called for strengthened institutional collaboration to prevent a repeat of the tragedy during Eidul Azha when people would throng the beaches in large numbers.

Two months ago, 41 people drowned off the Seaview beach on Eidul Fitr. “As Eid is approaching, we appeal to the general public to avoid swimming in the sea especially during this weather. The sea is not meant for swimming anyway,” said Karachi Commissioner Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui who chaired the meeting.

“It must be noted that Section 144 of the criminal penal code has been imposed along the beach. Therefore, any person found swimming in the sea or entering it will be arrested by police. There is no ban, however, on coming to the beach,” he added.

According to the commissioner, multiple meetings have been held on beach safety after the Seaview incident and recommendations prepared by the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) in this regard have been forwarded to all relevant agencies.

The commissioner asked officials of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), Karachi Port Trust (KPT), Port Qasim Authority, Pakistan Navy and the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) to coordinate with each other on beach safety and ensure that no life was lost due to drowning during the Eid holidays.

He urged these departments to make beach safety part of their administrative and financial system and start such measures as establishment of temporary watchtowers, erecting of banners inscribed with slogans discouraging sea swimming and deployment of lifeguards armed with necessary life-saving gear along the coast.

“The rescue service will be put on high alert during the Eid days and we request the same from navy authorities,” he said, adding that the area behind Hyperstar was vulnerable and people should avoid going to that area.

A KMC official told the audience that the corporation had improved its network with the help of NGOs and planned to increase surveillance of beach locations from 12 to 14 that included Paradise Point, Neelum Point, Cape Monz, Kannup Point, Golden Beach, Sands Pit, French Beach, Sunehra Beach and Mubarak Village.

It was also pointed out that the DHA should speed up the process of giving approval to the Pakistan Life Saving Foundation to take measures along the coast to prevent drowning.

Replying to a question on investigation into the beach tragedy, the commissioner said: “A summary suggesting an award of Rs200,000 to each victim family is now with the finance secretariat for approval.”

Discussions with different stakeholders, he said, showed that the incident had occurred due to unplanned construction and digging in that area. “Responsibility for the incident will be fixed once the commission’s report presents its report,” he said.

The commission is led by the senior member of the Board of Revenue with secretaries Dr Niaz Abbasi and Inamullah Dharejo as its members.

Meanwhile, the PDMA also held a meeting on beach safety the same day.

Officials from the National Institute of Oceanography, Pakistan Navy and KPT attended the meeting, which was chaired by the authority’s director general Syed Salman Shah.

According to sources, the meeting decided that a survey would be conducted to assess the changes that had occurred along the coast that led to the drowning incident. For this purpose, KPT would share its 2009 survey report to evaluate pre-dredging conditions at the next meeting.

The KPT, the sources said, was building a deep-water container terminal near the coast that was said to be one of the major factors that contributed to the drowning incident.

Published in Dawn, October 2nd, 2014