Vested quarters in the Chattogram Hill Tracts (CHT) are carrying out propaganda against all development projects, like construction of roads, educational institutions including medical college and other tourism friendly structures.
The three districts of Rangamati, Bandarban and Khagrachhari have huge potentials of tourism. The government is trying to develop tourism- friendly structures in the three districts for domestic and international tourist demand. The overall development of the tourism industry will create opportunities for domestic and foreign tourists to enjoy the scenic beauty of Bandarban.
However, vested quarters are carrying out propaganda at home and abroad against tourism-friendly projects to make their own gains, according to intelligence agencies.
They continue to spread falsehood against the ongoing construction of a five-star hotel, 'Marriott Hotel and Amusement Park,' in Chandra Pahar, previously known as Naitong Hung (Hill) in Bandarban Chimbuk area. The project is located at Jibon Nagar's Chandra Pahar under Lama upazila of the district.
According to credible sources, the group is involved in a deep-rooted conspiracy to foil the government move to implement various development projects for promoting tourism in the remote hill district for the socio-economic development of the area.
According to sources there are no hill people living within a radius of three kilometers of the project under construction. Most nearby Dolapara is around 1.3 kilometers away from the Chandra Pahar and the main site of the project is farther away from Dolapara.
According to the local sources, there are only four paras, (small part of a village) adjacent to the Chandra Pahar. The nearest para is Dolapara, located to the south side of Chandra Pahar. Karpupara is to the north-west side of Chandra Pahar. It is 3.5 kilometers away from Chandra Pahar. Kolaipara is to the east of the Chandra Pahar. It is 5 kilometers away from the tourism site by road.
Erapara is located to the north side of the ongoing tourism site. It is also 5 kilometers away from the Chandra Pahar.
Anti-state groups are campaigning that at least 10,000 Mro tribal people are living in the area. But the sources said that at Karpupara there are 48 Mro families. Total population is only 320. Only 20 families are currently living at Dolapara where the total population is only 120.
At Kolaipara, 37 families are living with only 250 family members while at Erapara, there are only 19 families and a total of 127 people are living there. Thus only 124 families with their 817 family members live at Karpupara, Dolapara, Erapara and Kolaipara under the Chandra Pahar village.
The local tribal elite said unless the funding sources of the JSS and UPDF are blocked, both JSS and UPDF will continue to buy illegal arms for their cadres and will also be able to pay salaries to their party leaders and activists.
If the rate of literacy is increased, the educated youths will resist terrorism of the JSS and UPDF. Fearing such potential protests against terrorist-based regional politics of both JSS and UPDF, the controversial groups have gone against the development of the hill district of Bandarban.
District Council Chairman Kyaw Shwe Hla at a press conference on November 22 clearly said there had been no Mro settlement in the Naitong Hills of Chimbuk area ever. "It is not true that if a tourist spot is built, it will directly affect Mro villages," he further said.
ATM Kawser Hossain, Chief Executive Officer of the Bandarban District Hill Council (BDHC) on February 25 said, "Those who are spreading propaganda against the tourism project are not local people. They are presenting baseless information in TV talk-shows and street processions."
Referring to the completely false claim of possible eviction of the Mro tribal community, the senior officer of the BDHC said, "There is no question of eviction due to the development project. Actually no people live within the radius of three kilometers of the site."
"Surprisingly, the construction of the hotel in Chandra Pahar started in 2015 but no one opposed it. But when the government is taking initiatives to attract domestic and foreign tourists to the CHT a vested quarters is opposing it.
Bandarban district is one of the most attractive tourist districts of the country. But local and international tourists are facing various troubles for lack of international-standard hotels and resorts in the inaccessible hill district. If the project is implemented, it will directly and indirectly provide employments for 1,000 to 1,500 tribal families. Besides, CHT, especially Bandarban, will go one step further in the development process.
