VISAKHAPATNAM: People, particularly those visiting the port city of Visakhapatnam, are highly disappointed over not being allowed on beachfronts, which have been declared closed on weekends from 5.30 pm till early hours of next day up to 6 am.
Police closed the entire stretch of 5-km-long R. K. Beach from Coast Battery to Park Hotel junction on the second day on Sunday at 5.30 pm Many people, who had come from Hyderabad, Odisha and Chhattisgarh, expressed shock over not being allowed on the beach. They said they had been unaware of the new regulation, which came into effect from Saturday.
“It is too hot to visit beachfronts during the day. When we stepped onto RK Beach at 4.30 pm, we had been told to pack off at 5 pm, as the place will be closed,’’ said a group of visitors who came from Raipur in their private vehicle.
Visitors to Rushikonda beach could be seen spending the entire day enjoying water sports. The beach closes by sunset. But after new restrictions have been imposed, it is being closed an hour in advance, disappointing people.
Police had a tough time chasing away visitors from beachfronts after 5.30 pm.
“We are finding it difficult to drive people off all along the beach. Administration should have closed only popular beaches for the entire day, which would have been convenient for us,” a senior police officer observed.
A few evening walkers told Deccan Chronicle that police should have closed only the RK Beach, where crowds gather in large numbers. Other beachfronts should have been kept open, where number of visitors is minimal even during weekends.
