Family's beach outing turns into a nightmare

Dubai: An outing at the beach during Eid holidays became a nightmarish incident for Indian expatriate Mathew Thomas and his family when his four-year-old son burnt his feet as he stamped on burning coals left by some unknown beachgoers covered by a thin layer of sand. The accident has left four-year-old Samarth with second degree burns on his left foot and minor injuries in the right one. "We went with a group of our friends to beach near Mamzar Park and children started to play. Suddenly I heard my son's screams and saw him writhing in pain with burning coal stuck to his feet. Someone had left the burning coal covered by a thin layer of sand. We immediately rushed the child to the hospital and he has sustained second degree burns and is in a lot of pain. He needs to be carried around and would take a few weeks to heal," Thomas said. Distressed "I am distressed by such carelessness of people who did not even give a thought to the consequence their action could have. People should be careful and I feel parents also should be careful and not let their children walk barefoot. Clear instructions on disposal of barbeque ashes should also be displayed prominently so that people are aware, I would not wish to see anyone undergo such an incident," said Mona, the child's mother. Beach cleanup campaigns across the UAE have found beverage cans, glass and plastic bottles, cigarette butts and food wrappers in high quantities. "It is such a shame that people litter at public parks and beaches. Last week a sharp object poked into my foot while I was walking around the beach area and I realised it was the sharp edge of a metal bottle cap. It is not only unpleasant to look at waste spread around but can be very dangerous as well," said Ganesh Tayade, a fitness trainer. The authorities have been trying to generate awareness among general public about Local Order No 11 of 2003 concerning Public Health and Community Safety, which also covers public parks, in the Emirate of Dubai. Fines for violations can start from Dh100 and go up to Dh100,000. Municipality has urged people to properly dispose of their waste for convenience of all other visitors to parks and beaches or face fines. Habiba Al Marashi, chairperson of Emirates Environment Group, said: "During our cleanup campaigns we find broken glass, cigarettes butts, food wrappers and a lot of other stuff. This approach which some people have of caring only about their own enjoyment is doing them no good. We should realise that the first thing which attracted us to a park or a beach is its beauty and cleanliness and we should leave it in such a way that we are able to go to revisit that place and others too are able to enjoy it."