Open air bar at Patenga sea beach

Law enforcers and anti-smuggling team of Chittagong customs house played mysteriously a silent role to check the operation of such an open air bar. The operators reportedly pay kickbacks to the law enforcers and the members of the anti-smuggling team regularly to run their business at Patenga sea beach, the lone seaside tourist resort in the port city that draws huge visitors daily, sources said.

The anti-smuggling team belonging to the rummage section of Chittagong customs house is supposed to patrol the beach area and other vulnerable points at Patenga, a spot for smuggling of foreign contrabands, but such a patrolling is hardly made by them, sources said.

Assistant Commissioner (Prevention) of customs house, Syed Muhibul Hasan said I am not aware of the patrolling at Patenga by our rummage team. But I will look into the matter to check the operation of open air bar.

Usually we raid Patenga on the basis of secret information about landing of consignments of smuggled goods, Hasan said. Sometimes, we haul huge smuggled items even from the cargo vessels, he added. "Now we can not patrol the outer anchorage as our two patrol boats are out of order for long, he said.

However, several teams of policemen regularly patrol the beach area day and night, but often overlook the boozers and illegal liquor sellers, witnesses said.

Even the patrol teams do not seize the smuggled liquors and other contrabands unloaded at Patenga beach from mechanised boats. The boats carry the contrabands to the shore from the outer anchorage of Chittagong port, sources said.

The liner vessels operating between Chittagong port and other foreign ports to transport import and export cargo, drop the contrabands including foreign liquors at the outer anchorage frequently. High powered mechanised boats are engaged by the smugglers to take them to the shore, sources said.

The drug cartel and chain of smugglers control the total deal having a clandestine link with highups of the administration, sources added.

The Deputy Commissioner (Port) of CMP, Abdullahel Baki said, I asked my policemen to take action against the open air bar. But some of them at the lower level might have link with the liquor sellers, Baki added.

Open air bar remained closed during the operation 'clean heart' and the boozers were hardly seen at Patenga sea beach. But the operation of open air bar resumed immediately after the end of 'clean heart' as the boozers reappeared.

The gathering of boozers gets a momentum on the nights of Thursday and Friday as huge visitors throng there to take a 'break' ,witnesses said.

When a visitor drops in at Patenga sea beach area, the liquor sellers follow him saying " sir, do you need whisky or beer. I can supply you even chilled beer ---no problem sir as we pay money to the police. So they will not disturb you".

Sometimes, the visitors are cheated by the sellers who supply adulterated and artificially corked whisky or beer at a very cheap price Foreign liquors are also available at Patenga sea beach through leakage from bond houses inside Chittagong port jetty and investors club at Chittagong Export Processing Zone (CEPZ).