The district administration has taken strict measures to protect the environment and ecologically critical areas (ECAs) of Cox’s Bazar, the world’s longest sea beach. Following the High Court’s order and the clear instructions of the Ministry of Environment, more than 50 illegal shops and establishments built by occupying the sandbanks of Sugandha Point have been evicted.
Cox’s Bazar Region Tourist Police Additional DIG (ADIG) Apel Mahmud has become particularly active in evicting these illegal shops and establishments.
He has played an uncompromising role in protecting the environment on the world’s longest sea beach.
Members of the Bangladesh Army, RAB, Tourist Police and District Police participated in this campaign led by the district administration from 11 am to 3 pm on Sunday (October 12).
The establishments were demolished using an excavator.
Disobeying orders: immediate eviction District Administrator Md. A. Mannan said that the campaign has begun to evict all types of illegal establishments from areas with environmental and ecological crises. The owners defied instructions to remove the establishments during an emergency meeting on Saturday afternoon.
Additional Deputy Inspector General (ADIG) of the Cox’s Bazar region of the Tourist Police, Apel Mahmud, said, “Whether there is a card or not, the shops must be removed — time was given after this instruction. But at least 50 establishments have been evicted because the owners did not do so.”
Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Md. Shahidul Alam confirmed that the campaign was conducted on Sunday as the instructions to remove the establishments by Saturday night were not followed.
‘Big’ campaign after October 16 Additional District Magistrate Md. Shahidul Alam gave a sterner warning, saying that as per the instructions of the Ministry of Environment, there will be no establishment on the sandbank. All other establishments, including the shops evicted at Sugandha Point, have been asked to remove them on their own initiative by October 16.
He said, “If they are not removed within the specified time, they will be evicted in phases through a major operation after October 16. This action will also be taken against all illegal establishments built by occupying the sandbank at other points besides Sugandha.”
Corruption allegations and legal background Sources said that the government declared Cox’s Bazar beach an ‘Environmentally Critical Area’ (ECA) in 1999, where construction and development of any establishment within 300 meters of the tidal zone is prohibited.
Locals complain that even though the operation is carried out occasionally, it is not permanent.
The reason for this is that some employees of the Beach Management Committee illegally helped set up shops without cards by taking advantage of the facilities, as a result, those shops were set up again the day after the eviction.
The conscious community has demanded that the administration take action by taking this syndicate into account.
Earlier, the district administration had conducted several campaigns to evict illegal establishments in December last year and in 2023.