Shipping Adviser Brig Gen (Retd) Dr M Sakhawat Hussain has urged that hotels in Cox’s Bazar causing river or environmental pollution should not only face fines but also be closed down.
He made the remarks on Saturday at a press briefing following a special coordination meeting at the Cox’s Bazar Circuit House, aimed at clearing encroachments along the Bakkhali River.
Dr Hussain said that once the full High Court ruling is received, authorities will prepare a coordinated list of river encroachers in Cox’s Bazar and take steps to evict them.
The meeting was attended by Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority Chairman Commodore Arif Ahmed Mustafa, Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Salahuddin, and senior officials from the district administration, Cox’s Bazar Development Authority, and the Department of Environment.
The Bakkhali River, Cox’s Bazar’s main river, has been at the center of the issue. The High Court recently directed the government to compile a list of all encroachers along the river and evict them within four months, while also implementing necessary pollution-control measures.
Dr Hussain visited Cox’s Bazar within a week of the ruling to ensure its implementation. The court emphasised preserving the river’s current course by demarcating its boundaries through an RS survey, evicting all encroachers, and enforcing effective pollution controls within the stipulated four months.
