The decade-old lifeguard service in the world's longest sea beach Cox's Bazar is likely to be closed threatening lives of thousands of visitors due to lack of fund amid possibility of discontinuation of fund disbursement by the international donor.
Sources said Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) has already informed the authorities concerned about its policy to stop funding Bangladesh considering its ability to continue the service being a middle- income country.
Though the donor announced to stop the lifeguard service from January last, it, however, decided to continue funding for next six to seven months, said an insider.
An international charity organisation working on sea beach safety for over 200 years, the RNLI has been supporting the lifeguard service on the Cox's Bazaar sea beach since 2013 saving on an average 150 visitors from drowning every year.
Some 27 lifeguards who keep eyes on the swimmers at Kolatoli, Sugandha and Laboni points from dawn to dusk have been working under an NGO named Centre for Injury Prevention and Research Bangladesh (CIPRB).
CIPRB data shows that the lifeguards saved 100 lives in 2015 and the number increased to over 2,200 last year due to increase in arrival of tourists on the world's longest sea beach, especially after introduction of the direct train service between Dhaka and Cox's Bazar.
Though efforts were taken to continue the lifeguard service through creating a fund involving all beneficiaries of the tourists including hotels, and Parjatan service providers, sources said those were not fruitful due to lack of intervention from the government.
CIPRB has already informed the issue to the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism (MoCAT), Ministry of Home, Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation and Bangladesh Tourism Board but yet to get any solution.
It is learnt that neither BPC nor BTB wants to take the responsibility. Sources said the lifeguard service has been maintained by spending Tk13 to 14 million every year.
Apart from providing salary to the lifeguards, some operational cost is needed to buy rescue boats, for renovating or remodeling towers etc. Lifeguards usually rescue the swimmers through jackets and rescue boards watching from towers but they also identify death traps like rip currents by placing red flags as a prevention of saving the tourists.
An official of MoCAT said considering importance of the lifeguard service, the ministry will hold meeting soon with all stakeholders to find best way to continue the service and fund arrangement.
"As it is time consuming to absorb the lifeguard from a project to revenue budget of the government, efforts have been on to find other solution to continue the service," he said, preferring not to be named. However, a meeting is expected to be held in the current month with all concerned.
Senior Adviser Mohammad Saikhul Islam Helal said with the donor's fund, lifeguard service has been tried to run in three points but scope of expansion of the service is visible from the data of lifesaving and reduction of the death.
But this service is also needed to be extended to other sea beaches like Saint Martin, Kuakata etc. he said, adding that Inani Beach and Madhabkunda- like places where incidents of drowning often take place must be brought under the service.
Since the Bangladesh Railway introduced the direct train services with the tourism city, number of tourists have increased multifold making over 500 hotels and motels benefited.
smunima@yahoo.com
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