Beach buffs seek more facilities

SAMUEL KUTTY -

MUSCAT, APRIL 21 -

It’s summer and who doesn’t want to dip their feet in the gentle waves and play in sand for a relief from scorching heat.

The Sultanate is blessed with a number of pristine beaches that offer ideal getaways to people to cool off either during the weekends or other holidays.

The beaches at Qantab and Qurum, Shell Beach in Al Athaiba and the Marjan beach at PDO offer enough space for families to swim, chill out, do barbeque and to camp overnight.

However, the beach-goers especially families, say that most beaches lack basic facilities. They want the authorities to give priorities for building public toilets, showers, changing rooms, and shade shelters.

Nasser, who frequents to different beaches in and around Muscat told the Observer that the authorities should provide more toilets and also employ safety patrols. “Sometimes motorised catamarans ply close to swimmers, which may lead to fatalities”, he said. Many of the beaches do not have lifeguards and nor are there any swimming zones marked. Also there are no proper washrooms, he said.

The same concern was echoed by Amrit Patel. “There are not life guards despite the fact that the beaches attract many families, who are essential for the safety of swimmers, especially children”.

Peter D’Souza, another beach-goer who frequents Shatti al Qurum with his family said that if not permanent, portable toilets may be placed at certain places, especially during summer days.

“This could be of great help for many residents who visit the beaches. Whenever we visit the beach and my children want to use a bathroom, we just have to leave the beach abruptly to look for the bathrooms”, he said.

Another issue on the beaches is the cleanliness. Qasim said that even after several clean-up campaigns, the beaches remain dirty. “The blame solely lies with the visitors who litter around. Garbage keeps on piling on the sand, which has become a serious health hazard as they stink”, he said.

The authorities should ensure that more dustbins are provided at a number of places to keep the beaches clean, he said.

Qasim also opined that the beaches may be made friendly for old and disabled people. In many places, there are no broad walks or areas which can be accessible with wheel chair.