Saint Martin’s Island, the only coral island in Bangladesh, is a paradise for travel enthusiasts drawn to its hidden beauty. However, environmental concerns prompted the interim government to impose strict measures, leading to a temporary halt in tourism to the island.
Finally, the interim government is easing the restrictions after a long wait.
Starting tomorrow, Thursday (November 28), tourist ships will resume operations between Cox’s Bazar and Saint Martin’s Island. However, the Ministry’s guidelines limit the daily number of tourists to 2,000. Additionally, overnight stays will remain restricted except for December and January.
Nilufa Yasmin Chowdhury, the Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) of Cox’s Bazar Sadar and head of the committee formed to regulate uncontrolled tourism and designate departure points for Saint Martin-bound ships, shared updates with Cox’s Bazar Life.
She said, “The committee held its first meeting on Tuesday at the conference room of the Cox’s Bazar Sadar Upazila Parishad. The committee decided to designate BIWTA’s Nuniyar Char terminal in Cox’s Bazar town as the designated departure point for ships bound for Saint Martin after discussing environmental and logistical concerns.”
The Ministry has limited the daily number of tourists to 2,000.
The Ministry will restrict overnight stays in November and February, but will allow tourists to stay overnight on the island during December and January.
After receiving an application on Monday, the district administration approved the operation of the passenger ship Keari Sindbad earlier this week.
Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Nizam Uddin Ahmed told Cox’s Bazar Life, “Keari Sindbad applied for permission to operate tourist ships, and after thorough evaluation, the district administration approved it to commence operations from Cox’s Bazar.”
By Abdur Rashid Manik
