Death trap awaits tourists at Digha

8 July 2012

biswabrata goswami
DIGHA, 8 JULY: The death of Sona Ghosh (22) today by drowning at Digha beach has brought home the fact that the tourist destination has of late become a death trap for tourists. Sona, from Panihati in South 24-Parganas, was swept away by a huge wave while bathing in the sea at New Digha.
Death has become a routine affair with an average of two tourists drowning in the sea every month.
According to official records, 28 tourists, including six women, drowned in the Digha coast, off the Bay of Bengal in the past 16 months,
 Three deaths were reported in the month of June. The first incident occurred on 6 June when Sanjit Lui and Surojit Lui from North-24-Parganas, drowned. Ashok Karuri, a youth from South-24-Parganas, died on 21 June.
On 29 June, Rohit Dey, a second year student of Narendrapur Rama      krishna Mission from Kolkata, met with the same fate while bathing in the sea.
However, the police and the Digha-Sankarpur Development Authority (DSDA) have refused to accept the responsibility for the mishaps.
Tourists have to be blamed for this, said Mr Soumen Pal, administrator of the DSDA. 
While bathing in the sea, they do not pay any heed to the warnings that are continually sounded by the police, a senior police officer said. Tourists are also warned about dangers through hoardings set up at different bathing points, mobile policemen and other modes of public address system. Nevertheless, tourists pay no heed to these warnings, thus gradually turning Digha into a graveyard, the officer said.
Mr Debasis Raut, a member of Digha Hoteliers’ Association, said drowning cases in Digha are on the rise as the tourists, in spite of their sound educational background, often ignore administrative orders against taking bath in the sea after consuming alcohol, particularly when the sea is rough. Statistics over the years show that most of the victims are from Kolkata and its surrounding districts.
A police officer said that the tourists often underestimate the sea at Digha at their own peril. Drowning cases are fewer in Puri compared to those at Digha as tourists bathing in the sea at Puri keep the roughness of the sea in their minds.
The sea at Digha changes its character frequently now-a-days and people should keep that in mind while venturing into it, the police officer said.
Local residents blamed the DSDA authorities for not implementing adequate measures to check the continuing mishaps at the beach.
The authorities had introduced life guards to rescue swimmers from drowning, but due to financial constraints it was discontinued. The presence of fewer numbers of nulias (only six for the three-kilometer stretch of beach) is also another reason for growing number of accidents.