Staff Correspondent: Illegal constructions are rapidly emerging on Cox’s Bazar beach, violating high court orders and bypassing the master plan meant to preserve the integrity of the coastline.
The authorities are disregarding the beach’s environmental and aesthetic value, with electricity connections also being provided to these unauthorized structures.
Reports from the ground reveal that since the change of government on August 5, over a hundred shops have been built on the sandbanks at the Sugandha Point of the beach.
Additionally, more than a hundred street vendors have set up on the road and sidewalks at this location.
Five more shops have been constructed in front of the Sea Crown Hotel at the Kalatali Point further south.
Zainal, a leader of the Greater Sugandha Shellfish Business Association, claims the shops were built before August 5, and that business owners have secured electricity connections for the safety of tourists and to support their businesses.
Cox’s Bazar’s Additional District Magistrate, Nizam Uddin Ahmed, stated that after learning about the illegal construction at Sugandha Point, he personally instructed that these structures be demolished within a week. If not, authorities will take action to dismantle them.
According to the Ministry of Housing and Public Works, a 30-year master plan for Cox’s Bazar’s tourism area, which was published in May 2013, prohibits the construction of any infrastructure within 300 meters of the beach.
Within the next 300 meters, only buildings up to 6.5 meters or two stories are permitted. However, these guidelines are being ignored as commercial buildings are being built on the beach.
In addition, the government declared Cox’s Bazar beach an Ecologically Critical Area (ECA) in 1999, forbidding the construction of any structures on the coastline.
The High Court has also issued an order to halt any construction in environmentally sensitive areas of the beach.
District Commissioner Mohammad Salahuddin emphasized that no construction, whether on government or private land, can be undertaken on the beach without proper authorization.
Several operations have already been conducted to address the illegal buildings.