COX'S BAZAR, Sept 02: Cox's Bazar sea beach is losing beauty as heavy rain and tidal surge have caused severe erosion across 06km area of the world's longest sea beach.
At least 15 small and large landslides have occurred on Sugandha, Laboni and Kalatali points on the sea beach.
The beach erosion is causing problems for tourists to walk amid heavy rain in the district for more than two weeks.
Kolatali hotel-motel zone was submerged by rainwater. The water coming down from the mountain falls directly on the beach. This results in erosion of the shelf.
Locals say Cox's Bazar sea beach is losing its beauty due to the incessant rain. Due to the lack of drainage system, water seeps through the low-lying areas.
Even though the beach has been erosion for a long time, the authorities concerned are not taking any action.
There is no drainage system on the sea beach, the sand is disappearing in the floodwater. The sea created on the sand is also disappearing.
When soil erosion started at Laboni Point in 2022, the Water Development Board constructed a one-km geotube bag dam at a cost of around Tk 6.8 million (68 lakh).
Although some erosion was prevented, erosion occurred in new areas, including Sugandha and Kolatali, on the beach.
Hundreds of thousands of bushes have been uprooted in the last two years due to the erosion of sand dunes in the sea. A few hotels and hundreds of shops are facing risk of disappearance.
A tourism businessman, Mukim Khan, said the beauty of the sea beach has been lost for a long time. Now, the beauty that is left has also been destroyed by rainwater.
In this situation, the sea beach is losing its beauty day by day. If soil erosion is not prevented, sand dunes will disappear soon. So, tourists will turn away from Cox's Bazar.
Shakibul Karim, a snail oyster trader, said although the beach has been eroded for a long time, the authorities have not taken any initiative to repair it.
All have only done corruption and irregularities. No one has worked to preserve the beauty of the beach. Tourists cannot walk properly due to erosion in various parts of the beach.
Tourists are expressing their displeasure for this condition on the beach. Tourists will turn away from Cox's Bazar. It will stop business.
Samir Shaha, a tourist visiting the beach, said the environment of the beach has been destroyed. There is no walking environment as the beach is bisected.
In addition, the beach is full of garbage. Such an environment has not been seen in the last 10 years.
Dhoritri Rokhay Amra (Dhora), joint convener of Cox's Bazar branch, HM Faridul Alam Shahin, said that due to the rough sea, heavy rain and landslides, sandbanks are disappearing at different places on the sea beach.
As the world's longest sea beach, Cox's Bazar is losing its beauty. The authorities should protect the beauty of the environment by dewatering the city, preventing beach erosion and cleaning garbage in a timely manner.
Cox's Bazar Water Development Board Executive Engineer Asif Ahmad said steps are being taken to prevent beach erosion on an urgent basis.
"A special project has been taken to protect the sea beach," he adds.
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