Tamluk, Aug. 8: Vehicles have begun plying on the Mandarmani beach near Digha despite a ban enforced last year by the East Midnapore administration.

Then district magistrate Antara Acharya had stopped the plying of vehicles on the Mandarmani beach in August last year after a tourist died in an accident during parasailing, which involves the use of jeeps.

However, from March this year, vehicles taking tourists on a ride along the beach or ferrying them to the resorts lining the seaside resurfaced because of an alleged slack in police vigil. Every year, nearly 5 lakh tourists visit Mandarmani.

The additional district magistrate (treasury) who also looks after tourism, Prasanta Adhikari, said that earlier, vehicles had no option but to ply on the beach because there was no road to the hotels and resorts. "But now we have constructed a road. We have asked motorists to use the road," he said.

A district official said many of the resorts had their entrances facing the beach, which made it impossible for tourists to take any other way.

On August 4 last year, then DM Acharya banned vehicles on the beach, saying they posed a threat to tourists and red crabs.