Cox’s bazar: Illegal shops return to Sugandha beach

Hundreds of illegal temporary shops have reappeared on Cox’s Bazar’s Sugandha beach during the Eid-ul-Azha holiday, undermining a major eviction drive carried out just three months ago.

More than 450 shops and structures were reportedly erected overnight from the eve of Eid, when government offices were closed and monitoring was limited, according to local officials and stakeholders.

The renewed encroachment came despite warnings from the authorities that the beach would be kept free of illegal occupation following the March crackdown.

Acting on a directive from Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed, a joint force led by the district administration demolished 930 illegal structures at Sugandha Point on March 12.

At the time, the minister stressed the need for continued vigilance to prevent reoccupation of the beach.

Cox’s Bazar Deputy Commissioner Md Abdul Mannan said evicted shop owners had filed a petition with the High Court challenging the demolitions.

He said all previously issued permits for beach businesses had been cancelled and no new permits would be issued or renewed for the time being.

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Several shop owners, requesting anonymity, said they had taken loans from NGOs to run their businesses and faced severe financial hardship after being evicted three months ago. They claimed returning to the beach was their only option to earn a living.

Mujibul Haque, chairman of the Youth Environment Society, alleged that illegal structures had spread across Sugandha, Kolatoli and Seagull Point, as well as into protected sagarlata, or beach creeper, conservation areas.

Mukim Khan, general secretary of Cox’s Bazar Hotel-Motel Owners Association, said unplanned structures were damaging the beach’s natural beauty and could deter visitors from returning to one of the country’s premier tourist destinations.