Patenga beach loses charm for illegal structures
Sunday, 15 May 2011
Our Correspondent
CHITTAGONG, May 14 (UNB): Patenga, one of the crowded tourist spots in Chittagong, is fast losing its charm with illegal shops mushrooming in the area. The beach usually attracts thousands of visitors daily round the year and becomes overcrowded during the winter. Illegal shops have now narrowed its shore and visitors face difficulties is moving around the beach. Over 400 illegal makeshift shops on and along the embankment have virtually occupied the entire Patenga beach. In addition, vendors and drug peddlers make the visitors' stay at the beach difficult. Sometimes, the vendors, mostly local youths, open the bottles of soft drinks and force the visitors to buy and charge extra money. Nobody is there to protest. Often there are reports of mugging and other crimes on the beach immediately after the sunset. Police patrol the beach area, but visitors allege that it is in adequate. Local sources said that Bangladesh Water Development Board (WDB) which takes care of the Patenga sea beach, is not willing to evict the illegal structures in the beach area for reasons unknown. "We can't evict them. We're not given such power or authority. If the WDB seeks our support to evict them, we'll cooperate," Office-in-Charge of Patenga police station Pradip Kumar Das told the news agency. Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) official Saifuddin Ahmed said the corporation has brought about some development on the shore site including lighting facilities, drinking water and public toilets. Talking to this correspondent Civil Aviation and Tourism Secretary M Atharul Islam said: "We haven't concentrated on Patenga yet. But we'll soon look into all tourist spots."
CHITTAGONG, May 14 (UNB): Patenga, one of the crowded tourist spots in Chittagong, is fast losing its charm with illegal shops mushrooming in the area. The beach usually attracts thousands of visitors daily round the year and becomes overcrowded during the winter. Illegal shops have now narrowed its shore and visitors face difficulties is moving around the beach. Over 400 illegal makeshift shops on and along the embankment have virtually occupied the entire Patenga beach. In addition, vendors and drug peddlers make the visitors' stay at the beach difficult. Sometimes, the vendors, mostly local youths, open the bottles of soft drinks and force the visitors to buy and charge extra money. Nobody is there to protest. Often there are reports of mugging and other crimes on the beach immediately after the sunset. Police patrol the beach area, but visitors allege that it is in adequate. Local sources said that Bangladesh Water Development Board (WDB) which takes care of the Patenga sea beach, is not willing to evict the illegal structures in the beach area for reasons unknown. "We can't evict them. We're not given such power or authority. If the WDB seeks our support to evict them, we'll cooperate," Office-in-Charge of Patenga police station Pradip Kumar Das told the news agency. Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) official Saifuddin Ahmed said the corporation has brought about some development on the shore site including lighting facilities, drinking water and public toilets. Talking to this correspondent Civil Aviation and Tourism Secretary M Atharul Islam said: "We haven't concentrated on Patenga yet. But we'll soon look into all tourist spots."