Cox’s Bazar Correspondent: The Bankkhali River, known as the lifeblood of tourist city Cox’s Bazar, is in crisis due to encroachers. Along with this, the parabon along the river has been endangered. Apart from occupying the banks as desired, the surrounding forest of about 600 hectares is being destroyed, and the filling and plot construction are going on. Buildings are being built one after another. This grand festival of encroachment under the noses of the administration, forest department, environment department, and law enforcement agencies has given birth to surprises. After many criticisms of the activities of the administration in these matters, in light of the instructions of the High Court, the task force formed under the leadership of the district administration has carried out an operation to clear the illegal encroachment from last Tuesday morning. The Additional District Magistrate (ADM) of Cox’s Bazar district administration said that hundreds of half-baked buildings and boundary walls have been demolished until this afternoon.
According to eyewitnesses, the list of those involved in river encroachment and forest destruction includes influential people of the area, businessmen, political leaders, and even public representatives. These encroachments, destruction of forests, and construction of structures are managed day and night by the local administration, related departments, and law enforcement forces. Without the support of the administration, no one would have had the courage to carry out this occupation in the open.
According to leaders of environmental organizations, a 595-meter-long bridge is being constructed over the Bankkhali River at Kasturaghat Point to connect it with Khurushkul. If this bridge is completed, the distance between Khurushkul and the greater Eidgaon area will be reduced, along with the creation of an alternative road connection for the city. But the bridge itself seems to have become black, like the Bankkhali River and the parabans along the banks. Before the construction of its connecting road, there is a competition to occupy the river by destroying parabans on both sides of the road. The parabola trees on the river bank are being killed, and the river is being filled with sand. Plots have been made and sold on this land. In this way, around 600 hectares of paraforest have been cleared along the connecting road, and hundreds of houses and other structures have been created. The role of the administration behind this occupation of the influential is also mysterious. Last December, the Department of Environment filed two cases against the encroachers. As no one has been arrested in this incident, the encroachment process has not stopped even after the case.
Meanwhile, the High Court has again given instructions to ensure the eviction of the encroachment on the river banks. In light of that instruction, miking was done on Monday. In that memo, it is requested that they remove the goods on their own initiative. Regarding river encroachment and the destruction of paraforests, ADM Abu Sufian said that deforestation after killing the living beings of the river is extremely inhumane. These illegal encroachments will be evicted by any means necessary to implement the directions of the Hon’ble High Court.
