POBNEWS24, Dhaka Nov 30, 2021 :The Cox’s Bazar Forest and Environment Protection Council, an environmental group, issued a memorandum to the Prime Minister on Monday afternoon demanding control of tourist traffic and ban on overnight stays there to save St. Martin, the only atoll in the country. Deputy Commissioner. This memorandum was given through Mamunur Rashid.
According to the memorandum, some selfish and greedy businessmen are now involved in the destruction of nature and biodiversity in Cox’s Bazar. They have come down to destroy the only atoll in the country, the green land of the natural universe.
St. Martin is a small island in the Bay of Bengal. Its area is only three square miles, which is 6.8 square kilometers per kilometer. The current population is about 12 thousand. There are more than two hundred residential hotels. None has valid approval or environmental clearance. The boat-like island of St. Martin cannot withstand the pressure of 12,000 people, more than 200 residential hotels, 3,000 buildings, including government buildings.
Of these, more than 10,000 tourists spend the night there for at least six months of the tourist season every year. As a result, the biodiversity of this ecologically endangered island has been destroyed. The stench made the environment heavy. In order to protect St. Martin’s, the Cox’s Bazar Forest and Environment Conservation Council is demanding that the next three years be marked by the implementation of a master plan and the formulation of policies to stop tourism. If this is not possible, the means of registration is to allow 600 tourists to visit the island every day. Ban tourists from staying overnight on the island.
Deepak Sharma, president of the Forest and Environment Conservation Council, said St. Martin’s Island was devastated by the pressure of 10,000 tourists and 12,000 locals every day. The coral island has become polluted with the excrement and garbage of 22,000 people. There is no sewerage system for more than two hundred hotels and multi-storey buildings. Constant extraction of St. Martin’s groundwater with electric pumps; Extermination of various aquatic animals including algae, corals, turtles, red crabs, snails and oysters; Due to open defecation and environmental degradation activities, the island is no longer what it once was. The environment is becoming heavy with stench.
Deepak Sharma said the groundwater level in St. Martin’s Island is very thin. Due to the influx of tourists, excess water is extracted during the tourist season. The salt water is coming from the tube well of the island. This has had a major negative impact on the lives of St. Martin’s residents.
The memorandum states that St. Martin’s Island is an environmentally critical area. If there is a catastrophe due to any environmental or any other reason, it will be difficult to recover. If these natural disasters, which were meant to protect the island, were to be disrupted, the island would be doomed. Many of the island’s various flora and fauna are already lost. Various animals, including sea turtles, used to come to St. Martin’s and Chhera Island to lay eggs. According to the survey, its number has dropped drastically. These turtles are not coming to the island as there is no environment for extra public gatherings, lighting of lamps at night, laying of eggs. If action is not taken now, it will not be possible to prevent disaster.
According to the Department of the Environment, the government declared St. Martin’s Island an Environmentally Critical Area (ECA) in 1999 to protect the island’s biodiversity. Surrounded by crystal clear water and coral reefs, the island is located on the southeastern border of Bangladesh with Myanmar. St. Martin is also a breeding ground for sea turtles. St. Martin has 6 species of corals, 151 species of algae, 191 species of mollusks, 40 species of crabs, 234 species of marine fish, 5 species of dolphins, 4 species of amphibians, 28 species of reptiles, 120 species of reptiles, 120 species of reptiles. , 175 species of plants, 2 species of bats and various species of animals lived. These animals are now on the verge of extinction. During the difficult times of climate change, many animals are slowly disappearing due to man-made pollution.
Deputy Commissioner accepted the memorandum. Mamunur Rashid said that the government also wants the environment of St. Martin to be protected. The importance of St. Martin will increase for tourists if the natural environment is protected. And if there is no natural environment of the island, tourists will not come.
General Secretary of Forest and Environment Conservation Council Mohammad Junaid, Officer Chandan Kanti Das, Joint General Secretary Raihan Uddin Chowdhury, Environmentalist Kamal Uddin, Rajib Devdash and others were present at the time of handing over the memorandum.
