Unique Kuakata beach at stake
With the monsoon coming, around four kilometres of Kuakata beach in Patuakhali stands the risk of crumbling into the Bay of Bengal, fear locals.
They say that a big chunk of the stretch, if not the whole, along with a few thousand Jhau trees (Casuarina equisetifolia) is feared to be devoured by the sea if protective measures are not taken immediately.
Last year, a combination of high tides and strong winds washed away over 50 feet of sand and the earth underneath the stretch from Gangamati to Khajura.
Many of the locals, like businessman Abu Saleh, say that it is a recurrent phenomenon taking place from May to October.
The problem, they say, lies in the fact that the beach is eroding faster than the rate at which it is naturally replenished.
Blaming the local authorities for not trying to protect the coastline, Abbas Uddin Akon, a resident of the area, said immediate actions should be taken to protect it from further erosion.
Although Kolapara Upazila Land Office had no records of the shoreline erosion, the locals say that over the years the loss has resulted in an altered coastal landscape.
During the monsoon every year, seawater floods a seaside eco-park, around three kilometres east of Kuakata Zero Point, intruding into one of its five freshwater lakes. A walkway and five concrete benches for visitors have already been washed away.
Around 1,000 Jhau trees were uprooted by the tides last year while another 9,000 lie in the danger zone.
At the zero point, numerous stumps and roots serve as a reminder of the erosion affecting the coconut plantation there over the last five years.
The Firms and Firms, which looks after the plantation, say they lost over 50 coconut trees last year alone. They now have around 2,500 trees, only a sixth of what they had started off with in the 60s.
Between the Jhau and coconut gardens lies a two-kilometre long reserve forest. Forest officials say some 100 native species like Korai, Gewa and Kewra were washed away last year.
The disappearing shoreline is also threatening the local tourism industry in the southern seaside town, 270 kilometres from the capital.
Some 500 seaside souvenir shops once dotting the zero point had to be moved back some 400 feet in 2007. Two years later, a government rest house with a built-in biogas plant had to be demolished.
In an effort to prevent the erosion, Water Development Board in Kuakata plans on dropping concrete blocks along a 2.3-kilometre stretch before the zero point.
World Bank has been asked to fund the around Tk 200 crore project as per the proposal submitted to it on July 26 last year, according to Sub-Divisional Engineer Md Shahidul Islam.
While this would weaken the force of the waves, it would also limit visitors' movement by radically changing the appearance of the beach, inevitably endangering the coastal wildlife.
The situation calls for in-depth studies on the possible effects of sea-defences on this beach, the geographic location of which offers the view of both sunrise and sunset, making it unique in the world.
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