Land grabbers at it again in Kuakata beach

Illegal structures are springing up along the Kuakata beach ignoring a High Court directive issued five years ago.

The structures, consisting at least 18 sea-front stores, were built hurriedly over the past few days since Friday with corrugated tin sheet and wood in Narikel Bagan (coconut orchard) area near Zero Point of the beach town.

A local youth named Abdul Kuddus has built the structures and leased those out to various businesses at a rate of Tk 20,000 to Tk 50,000 for each store, said locals. 

On June 2, 2011, the HC in its directive required the authorities concerned to immediately remove all structures from the Kuakata sea beach. It also asked them to take necessary steps to stop encroachment, earth filling and construction of structures on the beach.

The HC directive came following a writ petition filed the same day by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB) on the basis of a report headlined "Realtor faces eviction case in Kuakata", published in The Daily Star on June 1 the same year.

Requesting to remain anonymous, a storeowner who leased a store space from Kuddus said all the storeowners have made oral contracts with Kuddus and made payments to him, ranging from Tk 20,000 to Tk 50,000 for each space.

Kuddus even boasts of having the capability of managing anyone -- officials at the land office, journalists and even political leaders, he said.

Selim Khan, tahshildar at Mohipur union land office under Kalapara upazila, said Kuddus is not employed by the land office or any other government office. He is a nonpaid worker who only looks after the coconut orchard on the beach.

However, locals alleged that Kuddus solicits tips from tourists and collects money in exchange for allowing the tourists to park their cars illegally in and around the orchard.

The additional deputy commissioner (revenue) of the district as well as the upazila nirbahi officer of Kalapara have been informed of this encroachment incident, seeking their directives, said union land officer Selim.

ABM Sadiqur Rahman, UNO of Kalapara, said, "We'll take steps to remove these structures very soon."

"We will remove these illegal structures from the beach within a week," said Delwar Hossain Matubbar, ADC-revenue of Patuakhali. "We will not allow anyone to build structures [on the beach], ignoring the HC directives."

Several illegal structures had been removed from the beach before, as directed by the HC, he added.

Abul Hossain, a tourist from Khulna, said the natural beauty of this beach would not be enjoyable if random structures occupy the beach.

The authorities concerned should take stern measures to save the Kuakata beach from land grabbers in the interest of our tourism, he added.

In the 2011 directive the HC bench of Justice AHM Shamsuddin Choudhury Manik and Justice Gobinda Chandra Tagore also ordered the deputy commissioner of Patuakhali to have the Kuakata sea beach demarcated immediately by a special committee.

The bench issued a rule upon the government officials concerned to explain within three weeks why they should not be directed to protect the sea beach from encroachment, and to take steps to prevent any further construction in the beach area.

Finally, on January 18, 2012, a High Court bench comprising Justice AHM Shamsuddin Choudhury Manik and Justice Jahangir Hossain Selim declared the construction of private structures on sea beaches and shores illegal and directed the government to draw up a master plan to turn Kuakata sea beach into an ideal tourist destination.

In its verdict on the writ petition filed by HRPB on June 2 in 2011, the court ordered the government to immediately remove all the structures built by any individual or company within the demarcated area of Kuakata beach in Patuakhali.

It also asked the authorities concerned to take necessary steps to protect and preserve the beach and to remain alert so that no private citizen or organisation can destroy its environment by building structures.

The republic owns all the sea beaches and shores, and as per the constitution, it is an obligation of the government to protect and preserve those, the court observed.