SHC takes notice of ignoring SOPs at Keenjhar lake

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday took exception over non-implementation of the standard operating procedures (SOPs) at the Keenjhar lake and summoned the secretary tourism to apprise the court on what security measures had the authorities taken at the picnic spot.

Hearing a petition against a lack of safety arrangements at the Keenjhar lake due to which ten picnickers had drowned, the SHC division bench, headed by Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar, observed that it was the responsibility of the local administration to ensure safety standards and implementation of the SOPs at the tourist resort.

The court observed that appropriate safety arrangements, including life jackets and lifeboats, should be available at the Keenjhar lake – a busy tourism resort in the province.

Petitioner Nadeem Sheikh submitted that ten persons, including women and children, had drowned when a boat carrying picnickers capsized on August 17 at the Keenjhar lake. He said the high court had earlier ordered the administration to adopt safety measures at the Keenjhar lake and the province’s coastal areas but no steps were taken to improve the safety and rescue operations.

The deputy commissioner and the SSP of Thatta appeared before the court and submitted their respective reports.

The additional advocate general submitted that the tourism department had formed SOPs on May 24 last year for the security and safety arrangements at the Keenjhar lake. The court observed that despite multiple directions were issued on SOPs, another boat capsized at the lake in which ten people drowned.

Thatta deputy commissioner Usman Tanvir submitted that there were two types of permissions for boats: one is for fishing and the other is for tourism. He said the picnickers had boarded a fishing boat that was not authorised for tourism purpose.

The court observed that it was the responsibility of the local administration to form proper SOPs so that fishing boats could not be used for tourism purpose. The deputy commissioner and the SSP of Thatta sought time to submit inquiry reports that are pending. They said they wanted to revisit the previous SOPs for effective safety measures.

The court directed the deputy commissioner of Thatta to come up with effective SOPs so that such kind of incidents could be avoided in the future. The court directed the provincial law officer to call the secretary tourism on the next date of hearing and apprise the court about what effective safety measures were being taken at the tourism spots of the province.