KARACHI: As the government issued another order urging people to exercise caution during their visit to beaches, experts on Friday highlighted the need for developing the coast in an eco-friendly manner that was safe for the people and providing them with a recreational space.

Speaking against the backdrop of the last year’s drowning incident at the Seaview that claimed the lives of more than 40 people, the experts criticised the government for recently creating confusion in the public mind — first bathing in the sea was banned under Section 144 (power to issue order absolute at once in urgent cases of nuisance or apprehended danger) of the criminal procedure code at the start of Ramazan and later just a day before Eid, the chief minister announced that people must not be stopped from going to the sea, but only from going into deep waters.

“It is very difficult for a common person or the rescue staff to determine the sea depth and the level of its danger. But one thing that we all must know is that it’s a monsoon season and the sea will remain rough to very rough till September,” Dr Pirzada Jamal Siddiqui of Karachi University’s Centre of Excellence in Marine Biology said.

“It’s for people’s own personal safety that they avoid going into the sea and just walk along the beach,” he said.

In developed countries, he pointed out, signboards were enough to warn people about any danger they might face at any public place. But the situation was different in developing countries where vast communities were poor and illiterate.

He suggested that safe spots be indentified along the coast and developed after conducting proper studies. “The sea offers the most inexpensive recreation to the poor and there is a strong need for developing the coast in an eco-friendly manner where people could enjoy the sea without putting themselves in danger,” he said.

The government must post sufficient police and rescue staff at beaches this Eid, he added.

Mohammad Moazzam Khan, former director general of the marine fisheries department presently working with the World Wide Fund for Nature-Pakistan, was of the opinion that it was solely unawareness that led to the last year’s tragedy during the Eid holidays and it’s time that people showed some respect to the sea when it’s rough and kept themselves away from it.

“It was like a mass suicide. The currents were strong and tides were too high and it was too foolish on the part of the people to go into the water,” he said, adding that government measures were sufficient for public protection this year and it’s up to the people now to act for their own safety.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a scientist associated with a public sector research organisation said that the government should have consulted organisations involved in marine research to limit public access to the sea.

“Although the government has imposed a ban on bathing in the sea, the police usually stop people from going towards the sea. Besides, it’s not logically possible to guard the entire coast and the solution to prevent drowning lies in educating the public through the media,” she said.

The shoreline at the Seaview, she said, had undergone massive changes due to large-scale land reclamation and it’s time the government had a deeper look into the issue.

“I don’t know whether any environmental impact assessment study was conducted before undertaking these big commercial projects. If no such study exists, then a research body should be asked to conduct a research to see the impact of these projects,” she said.

Published in Dawn, July 18th, 2015

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