Ensure safety on the beaches

After humid weather, Karachiites get relief with the start of monsoon season. The weather and summer holidays create problems for Karachiites. Monsoon brings pleasant change in the mood of the people. This season the ocean was stormy. The shores are considered the most enjoyable outing. It fascinates the people-seeking thrill of the sea. The high tides fail to scare picnickers.
Our beaches are without basic civic amenities, like, hotels/restaurants, drinking water, public toilets, suitable playlands and adequate security arrangements which are considered essential on the beaches.
While most of the visitors prefer to take a dip in the sea, the majority is of non-swimmers and has no understanding of the danger involved in swimming. Resultantly, some of them stray or are sucked into the sea and are either drowned or suffer serious injuries.
The lack of swimming skill and public awareness are major causes of these accidental deaths.
Fatal incidents of drowning are quite frequent during the monsoon season. Every year, the sea takes many lives. This year 64 people died and six were rescued off the Karachi's coastline.
The experts presented the proposals on safety on beaches in a seminar arranged by Pakistan Press Foundation on "Ensuring Safety on the Beaches".
The issue was important which City District Government, the Pakistan Navy, Fire Brigade Department and Edhi Foundation and an NGO attended.
The experts stressed the need for coordinated efforts by the agencies, for protecting the lives of people on the beaches.
Col Ehteshamuddin, District Officer (DO), Civil Defence and Fire Brigade, City Government, Karachi said the CDGK has imposed ban on swimming in the sea under Section 144 CrPC to avoid mishaps. It has also provided 40 lifeguards and police personnel to patrol the Clifton and Hawksbay beaches. The citizens should obey the law.
According to the estimate, Lt. Commander, Tariq Mahmood, Incharge, Life Saving and Rescue Coordination Cell, Pakistan Navy, said on weekends/public holidays, approximately 4000 people visit Manora and adjacent beaches which are stretched to Sands Pit, Hawkesbay, Paradise Point and approximately 8000 people go to Clifton and Sea View.
"Though life saving facilities are available with some government organisations but they are in scattered form lacking coordination with each other. Realising this fact, life saving facilities under different departments were re-organised many times during the past for its effective use but could not produce the desired result. This is primarily due to non-existence of a dedicated organisation headed by a single competent authority, he added.
All beaches are without basic facilities, which are considered essential for any place to be utilised for picnic or fun-seeking that in turn generates economic activities.
The PN thought the government's own resources are rather meagre. This state of affairs is deplorable considering the fact that no serious attempt has been made to-date to lure the private sector to this area which should rather be willing to provide such facilities on commercial lines.
Reza Samad, President, Pakistan Aquatic Welfare, Government of (Sindh) informed the seminar PALS is an NGO which has been formed to ensure people's safety in and around water - at home, in public pools, on the beaches, in lakes, in rivers or out at sea.
PALS is formally associated with the New Zealand Lifeguard Association (Surf Life Saving New Zealand's Northern Region - SLSNR). This collaboration is helping PALS to professionally manage life saving unit in Karachi.
SLSNR has given necessary training in June 2004, to over 175 PALS lifeguards and also Navy divers and the CDGK lifeguards.
"PALS will provide public safety to the users of Karachi's coastline beaches from Defence Society in the south of Karachi to Mauripur in the west. The beaches will include Sea View, Clifton, Sands Pit, Hawkesbay, French Beach, Paradise Point, Neelum Point, Cape Monze, Sunehri and Mubarak Village covering over 35 kilometers of popular beach front".
PALS provides public service to the people visiting the beaches. It also provides employment as lifeguards to the impoverished coastal communities.
All the lifeguards employed belong to the poor fishing communities living along the coastline (who are naturally good and strong ocean swimmers), thereby providing the much needed livelihood to an otherwise impoverished society of the country.
Arabian Sea is considered a rough sea by international standards as compared with the Indian Ocean, which it merges into.
PALS also trained 100 lifeguards available every Sunday and public holidays. The lifeguards are not available every day but to the sponsorship sources are secured; the lifeguards may be positioned throughout the week.
PALS is jointly working with city government and the Pakistan Navy.
Kazi Ali, Chief Fire Officer, Karachi informed the gathering a Resource Centre has been established by the fire department at Clifton beach, which was not the Fire Department's responsibility. This centre is providing 48-hour services to the general people. It also provides first aid service.
Several victims of blue bottle and jelly fish and injured after striking with rocks get first aid.
Edhi Foundation Trust is in coordination with the city government's divers whom we can call for help when needed, Rizwan Edhi said. "We have our own divers, but during high tide nobody dares enter the water".
Rizwan also said Foundation would get four speed boats from China next month. "With the help of these boats, we hope to be in a better position to help the people in distress, whether off the beaches or deep at sea".
Edhi has at least two ambulances at Hawkesbay and one each at Sea View, Paradise Point and Gadani.
"No measures are possible to retrieve a man from the jaws of the lethal waves". The police and volunteers are helpless as people are rolling and smashing waves.
A number of NGOs are working on beaches but they are just getting limited funds. The NGOs should work honestly, stressed Rizwan.
What else you can do to be safe?
A man sitting in the watch-tower, is not a solution as he cannot do the job of a lifeguard.
The three watch-towers, made by Pakistan Navy, are not enough. They need more watch-towers to be constructed. All lifeguards are to wear prescribed uniform so that they can be identified easily by the general public.
There should be bifurcation of safe and dangerous areas through banners, signboards, flags and posters etc.
The private sector should be involved for providing life jackets etc., to picnickers on affordable payment.