Climate change, cyclones and strong waves have left Parki sea beach in Anwara, Chattogram, facing severe erosion. Desh Rupantor reports that about a kilometre of casuarina forest has been lost to the sea over the past decade and a half, compounded by pollution, encroachment and administrative neglect. The shrunken beach is completely submerged at high tide.
Geo-tubes and geo-bags placed by the Water Development Board to protect the beach have become a hazard for visitors. They have left holes large and small; at low tide these hold knee- to waist-deep water, and broken concrete from damaged structures lies scattered across the sand. Plastic and waste are trapped in the layers of geo-bags, and there are no warning signs.
According to the report, cyclones Amphan (2020), Yaas (2021), Sitrang (2022), Mocha (2023) and Remal (2024) caused heavy damage along the Anwara coast, eroding embankments, homes, farmland, fish enclosures, roads, markets and the beach. Local resident Nurul Anwar said dumping, tree destruction and indifference are destroying Parki's natural balance and biodiversity.
Acting Anwara Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Abu Jafar Majumder said the geo-tubes and bags follow a river-protection design when a sea-protection design is needed; for now they slow sand loss somewhat. Professor Dr Md Shafiul Alam of Chittagong University's Institute of Forestry and Environmental Sciences said the bags are refilled at a cost of crores of taka every year or so but burst and lose their effect. Mangrove planting would be good, he said, but is not possible along the whole of a tourist beach; modern groynes like those in Tamil Nadu or Karnataka could be an alternative.
Monira Parvin, Chattogram divisional coordinator of the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA), warned that without a planned coastal protection policy several important parts of Parki could soon be lost to the sea, and that some stretches of the seaside embankment are already at risk.
For lasting protection, the Water Development Board has taken up the "Parki Sea Beach Conservation" project, costing more than Tk 548 crore, to protect about 3 km of coast and build embankments and bank protection, safeguarding the beach, the Karnaphuli Tunnel link road, settlements and key installations. The design is being prepared. Md Kashem, president of the Parki traders' association, said erosion is driving away tourists and hurting business.
Photo: Azim Al Jabber / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Source: Desh Rupantor
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