Unplanned urbanization threatens world’s longest natural sea beach and displacement of locals

Dhaka, Bangladesh – The tourist attraction of the Cox’s Bazar in Dhaka is being tampered with and threatened by unplanned urbanization and a continued disregard by the authorities of its pristine nature warned
experts.

For tourists, Cox’s Bazar is a holiday destination with pristine coconut palm-lined sandy beaches, sunshine and tropical weather.

The 120 km unbroken beach attracts tourists everyday round of the year. The district town is also the home of around 200,000 people, plus nearly 1,000 local and foreign aid officials working at the Rohingya refugee camps.

H. M Nazrul Islam, President Reporters’ Unity Cox’s Bazar and Executive Member of South Asian Youth Forum, said that despite regulations protecting the place, the beach of the district is not being protected, calling for action to protect the beach and warning in case this continues the bio-diversity and beauty of Cox’s Bazar “ will be destroyed.”

“The ECA (Ecological Critical Area) Act passed in 1999 by the High Court and Honorable President circulated gadget on the Act. The act prohibited construction work on 120 KM long of the beach. The High Court also ordered within this 120 KM, no land can be leased,” Islam said.

He added that the law had been broken from the beginning, calling for the re-implementation of the ECA Act.

However, Santou Kumar Deb, Chairman & Associate Professor, Tourism & Hospitality Management, University of Dhaka, said that to attract tourists, the local communities must be removed and there must be more construction works, including the establishment of an airport.

“I think to attract the foreign tourists, as well as local tourists, Rohingyas must have to shift to other places from Cox’s Bazar beach are where they have been sheltered in the palm-lined sandy beaches, to the other place,” Deb said.