Passenger launches are outside the purview of the ban
File photo of Chitra Deer in the Sundarbans Syed Zakir Hossain/Dhaka Tribune
Hedait Hossain Molla, Khulna
Publish : 13 Jan 2022, 07:57 PMUpdate : 14 Feb 2022, 11:54 AM
The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) has banned tourist launches to the Sundarbans in light of the ongoing uptick in Covid-19 cases and deaths in the country.
BIWTA wrote a letter to the Tour Operators Association of Sundarbans (TOAS) in this regard on Wednesday.
Abdur Razzaq, the BIWTA deputy director (Ports and Traffic Department) at Khulna River Port, who signed the letter, told Dhaka Tribune that the decision to suspend the tourist launch operations from Thursday until further notice was taken following directives from higher-ups.
However, passenger launches will remain outside the purview of the suspension, he said on Thursday.
Meanwhile, M Nazmul Azam David, general secretary of the Tour Operators Association of Sundarbans, confirmed receiving the BIWTA letter.
“But we spoke to the BIWTA chairman about this on Thursday and he assured us that the suspension would be lifted. He will issue a letter soon in this regard,” he said.
Razzaq was unable to confirm David’s claim immediately.
Belayet Hossain, divisional forest officer (DFO) of Sundarbans East, also added that the Forest Department had not imposed any restrictions on tourists visiting the Sundarbans yet. “Everything is normal so far.”
The country has seen a steady increase in Covid-19 cases over the past three weeks.
Bangladesh logged another 12 deaths from Covid-19 and 3,359 fresh infections in the 24 hours till 8am Thursday, when the fresh 11-point restrictions, imposed by the government, took effect.
At the beginning of the pandemic, tourists were banned in the Sundarbans from March 26, 2020. When the situation eased a bit, from November 1, 2020, the ban was lifted to allow travel on a short range.
Almost seven months later, when the situation deteriorated again, on April 3, 2021, tourists were again barred from entering the Sundarbans. However, from September 1, 2021, tourists were permitted to travel to the place again.
BIWTA bans tourist launches to Sundarbans
Passenger launches are outside the purview of the ban
The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) has banned tourist launches to the Sundarbans in light of the ongoing uptick in Covid-19 cases and deaths in the country.
BIWTA wrote a letter to the Tour Operators Association of Sundarbans (TOAS) in this regard on Wednesday.
Abdur Razzaq, the BIWTA deputy director (Ports and Traffic Department) at Khulna River Port, who signed the letter, told Dhaka Tribune that the decision to suspend the tourist launch operations from Thursday until further notice was taken following directives from higher-ups.
However, passenger launches will remain outside the purview of the suspension, he said on Thursday.
Meanwhile, M Nazmul Azam David, general secretary of the Tour Operators Association of Sundarbans, confirmed receiving the BIWTA letter.
“But we spoke to the BIWTA chairman about this on Thursday and he assured us that the suspension would be lifted. He will issue a letter soon in this regard,” he said.
Razzaq was unable to confirm David’s claim immediately.
Belayet Hossain, divisional forest officer (DFO) of Sundarbans East, also added that the Forest Department had not imposed any restrictions on tourists visiting the Sundarbans yet. “Everything is normal so far.”
The country has seen a steady increase in Covid-19 cases over the past three weeks.
Bangladesh logged another 12 deaths from Covid-19 and 3,359 fresh infections in the 24 hours till 8am Thursday, when the fresh 11-point restrictions, imposed by the government, took effect.
At the beginning of the pandemic, tourists were banned in the Sundarbans from March 26, 2020. When the situation eased a bit, from November 1, 2020, the ban was lifted to allow travel on a short range.
Almost seven months later, when the situation deteriorated again, on April 3, 2021, tourists were again barred from entering the Sundarbans. However, from September 1, 2021, tourists were permitted to travel to the place again.
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