Five-kilometre beach net likely

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COX'S BAZAR, Mar 17 (BSS): Forty three people, mostly young and children, have died in Cox's Bazar sea beach since 1996, mainly due to non- compliance to safety regulation and falling into the trap of quick sand, locally known as 'Gupta Khal', private lifeguards and administration sources confirmed today.
The guards said that they had rescued over 800 people during the period from the sea, which claimed eight lives in 2007, 10 in 2008 and only one in 2009, thanks to stronger vigilance enforced since last year.
"Most of the dead are young university students who didn't care for safety regulations and jumped into the sea water even during ebb-tide," chairman of Beach Management Committee and district magistrate Mohammad Gias Uddin Ahmed told the news agency.
He said that the beach vigilance had been strengthened through two private lifeguard agencies- Yassir Life Guard and Gren Cox- and last year only one person from capital Dhaka died. Besides, steps have been taken to illuminate beach at night and issue warning through loudspeaker and mega speaker so that people go by the advice of the beach authority.
"We always discourage tourists not to swim in the sea during ebb-tide. But many of them do not bother about it and fall into the death trap," the deputy commissioner said adding, steps had been taken to erect sea safety net in the beach but high tide jeopardised the plan of early nineties.
Parjatan Real Estate Association (PREA) has recently proposed to the district administration that they would erect the safety net provided the forum is given the responsibility. The organisation has expressed its willingness to build the 5-km long net in the shallow water of seashore between Kolatoli and Diabetic More with its own money.
Mostafa Kamal, key person of Yassir Lifeguard, said that they had been trying their level best to protect the lives of tourists, especially the children and women. He said none of the women died in Cox's Bazar because they are mostly law- abiding.
The youths are the main problem, he said, echoing the deputy commissioner Gias Uddin, who said the youth should check their temptation and slowly move to the sea water instead of any hurry.
Life jacket and air tube should be made mandatory to swim in the sea, said Omar Sultan, president of hotel-motel-guest house owners' association. He said all the deaths should be prevented to give a confidence to the minds of the tourists, number of whom are growing in an unprecedented manner in Cox's Bazar. He also said that the beach police could be trained with the help of Bangladesh Navy to guard the seashore and rescue people in danger.