Unplanned structures on St Martins Island have become a threat to the promising tourism sector. Tourists may not even make trips to the beautiful island five years from today if the ongoing spree of constructing unplanned structures is not stopped.
President of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism RAM Ubaidul Moktadir Chowdhury, at a briefing on Saturday, told journalists that his committee will send a proposal to the government for better coordination among different ministries in order to preserve the natural beauty of the island.
He was speaking after a meeting of the standing committee.
He said that 25 years ago the island was well organized with a handful of structures but now there are structures that have been built in an unplanned manner. Construction of such structures must be stopped, he stated.
Members of the committee inspected the island on Saturday and held the meeting at the Information Service Centre there.
On January 20, the Department of Environment (DoE) and Cox's Bazar district administration stopped the construction work of nine illegal resorts on the St Martin's Island's Environmentally Critical Area (ECA).
Apart from this, ten illegal structures built on the beach were also evicted.
Md Abu Sufyan, an additional district magistrate, led the operation accompanied by Saiful Islam, assistant director of Cox's Bazar DoE, and members of the Tourist Police.
According to the DoE sources, the team stopped the construction work of nine resorts that were being built illegally. Some structures were also demolished during the drive.
Later, a campaign was launched to raise awareness among tourists visiting the island regarding environmental issues.
