Hotels, resorts and cottages have multiplied around the sea beach at Cox's Bazar, many of them inside an ecologically critical area, and a number operate without environmental clearance or a fire-safety certificate. A photo story by Prothom Alo photographer Sourav Das shows what that looks like.
Preliminary figures from government agencies, the hotel owners' association and traders put the number of residential hotels, resorts and cottages in the district with fire-safety shortfalls and other irregularities at more than 700. Agencies have identified violations and served notices, but building and business have not stopped. The Tuptup resort, which burned down, had also been served a closure notice and kept trading.
The pictures show structure after structure inside the critical area and cottages being put up with timber and tin roofs. New resorts and cottages are rising along the Marine Drive, and fresh construction for tourists is under way right beside the beach.
Many hotels, resorts and cottages lack the required certificates and operate without environmental clearance, and illegal building has continued despite notices from several agencies.
Photo: Mohammed Tawsif Salam / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0); Kolatoli Marine Drive
Source: Prothom Alo
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