Safety first: Sea View to get four watchtowers in 45 days

First tower already built at the spot where over 40 people drowned during Eid.

KARACHI:

Within the next 45 days, Sea View will have four watchtowers for the safety of beachgoers and adventurous swimmers.

The project will be inaugurated today by the commissioner, Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui. One of the watchtowers, which is 29 feet tall, has already been built at the site where more than 40 people drowned during the Eid holidays last year.



The tragic incident forced the authorities to resort to the only solution at their disposal: shut down the beach to the public. Three months later, the beach was reopened but without any foolproof security measures that the authorities had promised in the aftermath of the drowning.

The commissioner office's project director, Syed Shakib Ali, claimed they had planned these watchtowers much earlier. "The construction began last month but we were waiting for one of the towers to be completed before inaugurating the project," he said.

Since the project is sponsored by an NGO, Citizens Council for Human Rights (CCHR), the commissioner wanted them to build one complete tower to prove their commitment, he added.

"The next three watch towers will be constructed on the shore between Bilawal House Chowrangi and Dolmen Mall," he said, adding that the area is approximately three kilometres long. "These towers should be completed in the next 45 days," added Ali.

Aftab Alam Babar, a CCHR member, said they contacted the commissioner soon after the drowning on Sea View to let them build watchtowers. "We want to establish an emergency response centre with complete medical facilities and deploy life guards, rescue volunteers, etc," he said.

"Emergency boats, loudspeakers, life jackets and a trained rescue team will be available to respond to emergencies even in the deep sea," he added. Babar estimated they will achieve all these targets within 180 days.

Since CCHR is the main sponsor, their advertisements will be visible on the watchtowers, an emergency response centre and the uniforms of the life guards. They hope to use the money from these ads to pay the salaries of the lifeguards and maintain the centre.



This particular stretch of the beach where the watchtowers are being built falls under the jurisdiction of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation. This means that the busiest part of Sea View, which is from McDonalds to Do Darya and falls under the jurisdiction of the Defence Housing Authority (DHA), is likely to remain without any safety arrangements.

For their part, the DHA authorities claimed they have several beautification and safety projects for the beach in the pipeline. "The DHA steering committee already approved an uplifting plan for Sea View," said the spokesperson, adding they will inform the residents when the project is launched.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 7^th, 2014.