Kuakata's prospects are threatened by lack of laws

Environmentalists fear Kuakata, Bangladesh's latest beach front paradise, will meet Cox's Bazar's fate unless the government enacts legislation to protect the pristine landscape from environmental degradation.

Kuakata's beaches are often littered with discarded polythene bags, cans and tonnes of stinking rubbish from the fishing villages nearby.

On the eastern side of the beach a forest of ageless trees stretches for miles, but noise pollution and 'unruly' tourists have almost stripped the forest of its rich wildlife: rare birds, deer, boar and reptiles.

Intolerable noise pollution, courtesy of indiscriminate loud speakers set up by local businesses and picnicking tourists, is already taking its toll on local residents and what's left of the wildlife.

And the situation will get only get worse as thousands of tourists, fresh from Ramadan, flock to the area. to walk its long sandy beaches and watch the sun rise and set, a property of the settings unique geography.

About two lakh people visited Kuakata between November and March last year. The numbers will surely grow, even though there are no tourist facilities, as intra-country communication improves.

The district administration in Patuakhali banned all construction work on the southern side of the embankment and the sea beach, but the local MP defied the administration's order and built a market on the spot.

Abdus Samad, the deputy commissioner of Patuakhali, said the district imposed the construction ban to stop unauthorised and haphazard buildings. Kuakata's infrastructure will follow the master plan, which has already been laid out, he insisted.

Samad said the police should stop the noise pollution created by the loudspeakers, or else.

"I will raise this matter during the district's next law and order committee meeting and take the necessary steps to stop these practices in Kuakata," said Samad.