The district administration has imposed an indefinite ban on all tourist vessels, including houseboats, in part of Tanguar Haor, the popular wetland destination in Sunamganj. Officials say the decision follows damage to the haor's natural environment and the balance of its biodiversity caused by the uncontrolled movement of engine boats and rubbish left behind by visitors.

The whole wetland has not been closed. "But that does not mean nobody can come to the haor now. Tourist vessels have been banned only in the part of the haor known as the ecologically critical area," Md Motiur Rahman Khan, additional deputy commissioner of Sunamganj, told BBC Bangla.

This is not the first such instruction. The district administration issued a similar direction in June last year, but many tourist boats ignored it. In November the government issued the Tanguar Haor and Hakaluki Haor Protection Order 2025, and the local administration has now decided to enforce a fresh direction under it strictly.

A public notice was issued last Sunday by Mohammad Minhajur Rahman, deputy commissioner of Sunamganj and chair of the haor protection implementation and inspection committee, setting out about a dozen new instructions.

To bring the boats into order, operators have been told to apply for registration within a week. For passenger safety, every boat must carry life jackets, a lifebuoy ring and a fire extinguisher, among other requirements. Officials have warned that breaching the instructions will bring imprisonment or a fine.

Many visitors have welcomed the move. Faisal Ahmed, a University of Dhaka student who visited the haor recently, said: "After going to the haor I felt myself that the government should pay attention to the way people who come to visit are dirtying such a beautiful place."

Boat owners have not objected outright, though some have asked how far the district administration is prepared to implement everything it has ordered. The haor is not only a tourist site: the livelihoods of fishing families and boro rice farmers rest on the health of the same wetland.

Source: BBC Bangla