Daily Times

Sir: Last week, two tragedies took place on this country’s beaches. On Friday, six members of a family — three women and three children — were swept away by strong currents at Balochistan’s Gadani beach. The women drowned as they attempted to rescue the children. Before this, two youths drowned at Karachi’s Sandspit beach when they went for an early morning swim during the Eid holidays.

Apparently locals had warned the young men that the water is extremely dangerous this time of year, but they paid no heed to these warnings. It also has to be noted that the swimming at Karachi’s beaches is banned during the monsoon season. Gadani beach is also known for its dangerous tides. A few years back, 18 people lost their lives in a single day when they were swept up by a particularly high tide.

These tragedies have shown us once again, that simple bans are no solution to any problem. The authorities must take a more proactive approach when it comes to tackling this issue.Firstly, the government must install signs telling swimmers that certain beaches are far too dangerous for swimming.

There are also no trained lifeguards at our beaches. In their absence, amateurs attempt to do the lifeguards job and get themselves killed in the process. For these reasons the governments of Sindh and Balochistan must install warning signs at their beaches and hire trained lifeguards who are strong swimmers and trained in first aid.

SHAHRUKH MEMON

Karachi

Published in Daily Times, June 25^th 2018.