COX'S BAZAR, Feb 1: St Martin residents in a web of despair as tourism halts from January 31.
Demand to keep St Martin open for tourists until at least February 28 on humanitarian ground.
From Sunday (February 1), tourism to St Martin, the country's only coral island in Cox's Bazar's Teknaf, is closing for nine months. According to the decision of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, tourists' permission to visit the island ended on January 31.
Typically, the tourism season on St Martin runs from October 1 to March 31 each year. However, this year, considering environmental protection, the government reduced the duration, setting it until January 31. Following this period, from 1 February until October, tourist access to the island will be completely prohibited.
Cox's Bazar Additional District Magistrate Md. Shahidul Alam said, "The designated time for tourist travel to St Martin Island ended. After this period, no tourist vessels bound for the island will be permitted to operate. Further instructions regarding tourist travel to St Martin will be communicated based on future government directives, and necessary measures will be taken."
Teknaf Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Imamul Hafiz Nadim said, "According to government instructions, St Martin Island was open to tourists for the two months of December and January. However, with the designated period over, tourist travel to the island is suspended from February 1. No directive has yet been received from the government regarding when tourism activities on St Martin will resume."
Meanwhile, the sudden announcement of a long-term tourism suspension has thrown the island's businesspeople and residents into extreme anxiety.
Abdur Rahim Jihadi, President of the St Martin Hotel-Motel and Resort Owners Association, said, "If tourism stops in St Martin, thousands of people on the island will be plunged into a subhuman existence. On humanitarian grounds, we demand that St Martin Island be kept open for tourists until at least February 28."
Tayeb Ullah, owner of St Martin Mermaid Resort, said, "The last remaining tourists on St Martin have also left the island.
Although there was opportunity for tourist movement for only two months this season, local residential resorts and small traders did not benefit as expected. Tourists primarily came by ship and stayed at larger Dhaka-based resorts. The ship authorities and externally owned resorts have profited from this. Local businesspeople have been deprived of that benefit."
He added, "Local residents had appealed to the government to extend the tourism period until at least Ramadan. But that appeal was not implemented."
Tayeb Ullah said, "In such a situation, the government should ensure alternative opportunities for local businesspeople so that islanders can survive because the island's people cannot manage the remaining ten months relying on income from just two months. Providing an opportunity until February would have benefited locals to some extent."
Fayezul Islam, Acting Chairman of St Martin Union Parishad, said, "The majority of the island's people are tourism-dependent. The sudden long-term closure of travel has left everyone disappointed. Extending the timeframe slightly would have made survival easier for the people."
Local battery-operated Tomtom driver Parvez Hossain said, "If there are no tourists, the Tomtom wheels won't turn. We will have to starve. I am now worried, saying I won't be able to repay loans."
Locals state that thousands of people are directly and indirectly involved with the tourism sector. On humanitarian grounds, they strongly demand that St Martin be kept open for tourists at least until the month of February.
According to regulations, tourism operated on a limited scale in November, December, and January. While overnight stays were prohibited in November, a maximum of two thousand tourists per day were allowed to stay overnight on the island in December and January. Six ships operated on the Cox's Bazar-St Martin route during this time. Tourist transport on this route began from the Nuniyachhara BIWTA jetty on December 1. However, the Teknaf route has been closed for a long time due to siltation in the Naf River and border tensions with Myanmar.
