A little right turn from the urban forest entrance along the Clifton coastline, a herd of camels out in the distance can be spotted. Footpaths leading in that way lead through wide-open spaces, where camels and horses can be seen with their feet tethered to iron posts by long, braided ropes.
Because of the recent ban on the camel and equestrian rides at Seaview Beach, these businesses have seen a significant drop in revenue.
The prickly plants growing in the sandy soil provide some of the camels with a tasty snack, while others get their water from recycled yellow plastic whitewash paint buckets or blue chemical containers. They spend their days eating and drinking in the open air, with their owners keeping an eye on them from their small airy homemade shelters, because they are no longer useful.
“The Cantonment Board Clifton [CBC] has ordered me to stop operating on the beach, so I take my camels to the city side to give rides,” said one camel owner.
On the other hand, it’s not the same as providing rides on the sand.
A beach picnic is not complete without a camel ride, which is a long-standing custom.
Since Dale Philip’s YouTube video about several lads taking a travelling YouTuber for a ride, the authorities, who provide us contracts to operate on the beach, have put an end to it, stated Gul.
According to one person, “We are all being punished for the misdeed of a few wicked lads.”
There are few picnickers on Clifton beach, where rides are permitted.
It appears that picnickers prefer Seaview Beach since it is larger and there is more parking available. “Do Darya is the furthest point of the Seaview beach. But we are not permitted to travel past Dolmen Mall,” it was reported by one Camel owner
Mohammed Abid, another camel owner, stated that with no job they had resorted to seek loans to be able to feed their animals and families. “We are drowning in debt now. Due to a lack of employment, we are unable to pay our debts and must instead use the proceeds from the sale of our camels as a sacrifice for the Muslim holiday of Eidul Azha. After all, camel prices start at one to one-and-a-half lacs,” he remarked.
“All our livelihoods have been destroyed as a result of those three horse owners who deceived the foreigner and overpriced him,” says one man. “The misbehaviour of those three has been passed down to the rest of us,” he moaned.
One of the grounds for prohibiting camels and horses from the Seaview beach was the overcharging of international tourists but it was not the main reason, according to a CBC representative.
The CBC plans to build a stretch of beachside parks,” which the owners of the horses and camels object to, therefore they have decided to keep them off the shore.”
There are, however, no restrictions on where they can work. ‘We can only keep them out of Seaview,’ the official insisted.
Works at The Truth International Magazine. My area of interest includes international relations, peace & conflict studies, qualitative & quantitative research in social sciences, and world politics. Reach@ aimen.bukhari@tti.org.pk
