A month-long clean-up drive is underway in Saint Martin’s Island, Bangladesh’s only coral-rich island, as a nine-month ban on tourist visits remains in effect. The Teknaf Upazila Administration has reported that 930 kg of plastic waste has been collected in a two-phase clean-up program. The first phase removed 410 kg, while the second collected 520 kg.
According to the administration, the waste included single-use plastic items such as polythene bags, plastic cups, water bottles, straws, toothpaste and shampoo packets, and candy wrappers.
The two-day clean-up initiative, held on February 12 and 13, was organized by the Department of Environment (DoE) and Bangladesh Sustainable Alliance (BSA). In the first phase, 266 volunteers, including students, teachers, environmental activists, and representatives from anti-discrimination movements, participated, and in the second phase, 272 volunteers participated.
Key officials present at the campaign included Arif Ullah Nizami, Assistant Commissioner (Land) of Teknaf Upazila, and Zamir Uddin, Deputy Director of DoE Cox’s Bazar, along with local students, environmental workers, and representatives of various organizations based on the island.
Speaking on the initiative, Teknaf Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Sheikh Ehsan Uddin stated:
“With the current tourist ban, we are using this time to clean and restore Saint Martin’s Island. In two phases over two days, we collected a total of 930 kg of polythene and plastic waste. This effort will continue in the future to preserve the island’s fragile environment and ecosystem.”
Cox’s Bazar Life Report/Abdur Rashid Manik
File Photo
