As day broke on the picturesque Mandarmani beach – the site of a horrifying crash the previous morning – it seemed nothing had changed. The death of three youngsters from Kolkata made no difference – all kinds of vehicles kept plying on the beach. Till noon, tourists kept speeding on the sands, vegetable and fish traders put-putted across on makeshift vanos, and the joyrides on bikes continued. Police were nowhere to be seen for most of the day, not even at watchtowers and kiosks. Then, in early afternoon, there was a sudden influx of cops. Men in khaki swept across the beach, driving motorists away. They started building bamboo barricades at entry points to the beach. “It took us some time to finalise the mode of restriction. But from noon, the restrictions were put in place. We will meet the local officials and hotel representatives tomorrow to strengthen security on the beach and ensure that such accidents are not repeated,” said SP Alok Rajoria.The Digha Sankarpur Development Authority is yet to come up with specific instructions on vehicular movement on Mandarmani, Tajpur and Sankarpur. District magistrate Rashmi Kamal said no new circular has been issued so far but a meeting will be held very soon with the local administration on the issue. DSDA chairman, Trinamool MP Sisir Adhikari said that vehicle movement is already restricted on the beach. “There is a complete ban on construction and operation of motor vehicles on the beach. Police have been instructed to keep tabs,” he said. The Ramnagar panchayat samity has put up some boards on the beach site, asking visitors not to drive on the sands. Vehicles belonging to fishermen will get passes. So will tourists headed for hotels that are not accessible through the main road. But these vehicles will drop them off and immediately turn back. “It’s very difficult to monitor illegal driving on the beach at night,” a hotelier said. Adhikari said the coastal regulation zone (CRZ) demarcation is over and the map will be released shortly.
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