Cox's Bazar
Coast Guard seize 2.1 lakh yaba pills from Naf river
Bangladesh Coast Guard (BCG) conducted a raid on the river Naf in Teknaf of Cox's Bazar district and seized 2.1 lakh contraband yaba pills early Monday.
Media officer of the BCG headquarters here Lt. Commander Abdur Rahman said that based on secret information, a special operation was conducted in the Naf river by BCG station Teknaf under BCG East Zone at around 2:15 am.
During the operation, the BCG members saw a locally made dinghy coming towards the Bangladesh water territory from the Myanmar frontier in the Naf River area of Sabrang Noapara.
Read more: BGB recover 70 thousand yaba worth Tk 2.1 core from Naf river
As the boat crossed the border, the movement of the boat appeared suspicious and a Coast Guard member signaled the boat to stop. Realizing the presence of the Coast Guard, someone on the boat threw two yellow plastic bags into the water and quickly fled to the border of Myanmar. Later, Coast Guard members picked up the two sacks from the water and searched and seized 2 lakh 10 thousand pieces of yaba tablets, Lt. Commander Abdur Rahman said.
He further said that the seized Yaba consignment was handed over to Teknaf Model Police Station for further legal action.
Four farmers abducted in Cox's Bazar
Four farmers have been allegedly abducted by miscreants from a hill in Teknaf upazila of Cox's Bazar on Sunday.
Those abducted are Abdus Salam, Abdur Rahman, Muhib Ullah and Abdul Hakim of the Lechuaprang area of the Hnila union.
Abdus Salam's younger brother, Munshi Rafiq, said that his brothers along with others were sleeping in a makeshift hut on their farmlands after driving away wild elephants from their cornfield on Saturday night.
Read: Rohingya leader stabbed dead in Cox’s Bazar
They were supposed to return in the morning but none of the four returned home till 10am.
The miscreants kidnapped them at gunpoint, he claimed.
Police have been informed over the abduction, said Rashedul Mahmud Ali, chairman of Hnila union parishad.
Md Abdul Halim, officer-in-charge (OC) of Teknaf police station said they are investigating the matter.
1 dead, 7 injured as tourist vehicle overturns on Cox’s Bazar Marine Drive
One person was dead and seven were injured when a vehicle carrying tourists overturned on Cox’s Bazar Marine Drive around 10 pm on Friday (January 06, 2023).
The deceased was identified as Momotaz Begum, 60, from old Dhaka’s Wari area.
Quoting the survivors, Anwarul, officer-in-charge (OC) of Ramu police station, said the accident occurred when the driver of the vehicle — carrying 12 tourists, returning to Cox’s Bazar from Inani — lost control of the wheels. The vehicle overturned on Marine Drive near Himchari police station last night, leaving eight people, including the driver, injured.
Read More: Life insurance official cushed under train in Khilgaon
The identities of the others injured could not be confirmed immediately but all the victims are relatives.
On information, police with the help of locals rescued the victims and sent them to Cox’s Bazar District Sadar Hospital. Police also seized the vehicle and kept it at Himchari police station.
“Momotaz Begum died on the way to the hospital. The injured are currently undergoing treatment and three of them are in critical condition”, the OC said.
Read More: Narail boat capsize: Death toll climbs to 5.
6 Rohingya robbers detained with foreign arms in Cox’s Bazar
Members of Coast Guard (CG) detained six Rohingya robbers with 14 foreign arms, 486 rounds of bullets and 20,000 pieces of Yaba pills from the estuary of Naf River and Bay of Bengal on Tuesday.
Lieutenant Commandant Md Mohiuddin of the CG Teknaf station, at a press conference, said acting on a tip-off, they came to know that a group of the Rohingya robbers was taking preparations for committing robbery in the estuary of the Naf River and Bay of Bengal.
Read more: 4 members of a gang of robbers arrested
A team of the CG conducted a drive in the estuary and detained the Rohingya robbers with the arms, he said.
With information revealed from the detainees another drive was also conducted at Kharer Island and several other arms and drugs were recovered, the CG officer said.
In the primary interrogation, the detainees admitted that they had been involved with the robbery for a long time, he said, adding that they were residents of Ukhia and Teknaf camps.
Read more: 9 ‘robbers’ arrested in Gazipur
The Rohingyas set up a den at the isolated Kharer Island to carry out criminal activities smoothly to dodge the eyes of law enforcers, he added.
BGB seizes drugs worth Tk5.6cr in Cox's Bazar
Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) said they seized banned drugs worth nearly Tk5.62 crore from Cox's Bazar's Teknaf upazila Sunday night.
Lieutenant Colonel Sheikh Khalid Mohammad Iftekhar, commanding officer of BGB-2 Battalion, today said they seized 1.65kg crystal methamphetamine and 10,000 yaba pills from the Kharangkhali area near the embankment along the River Naf.
Read more: Goods worth Tk107 crore seized in December: BGB
Tipped off, two patrol teams of BGB conducted a raid at Kharangkhali at midnight. At that time, a man who was trying to cross into Bangladesh from Myanmar took to his heels after seeing them.
Later the BGB teams found the crystal meth and yaba pills wrapped in a cloth at the spot.
Although the BGB men were hot on the trail of potential drug smugglers, they could not detain anyone in connection with the seizure of the illegal drugs, Iftekhar said.
Read More: Ensure security to lives and property of people living in bordering areas: PM to BGB
Cox's Bazar tourists witness majestic last sunset of 2022
Cox’s Bazar is now buzzing with tourists who have flocked to the beach town to witness 2022’s final sunset and welcome the New Year.
Tourists and locals enjoyed the last sunset of 2022 on the beach and bid farewell to 2022.
Masud Chowdhury and Samantha Rahman, a tourist couple from Narayanganj, said, “We welcome 2023 with a trip to Cox's Bazar to let go of disappointment, sadness, and pain."
Apart from the beach, tourists flock to the city's Burmese market, Himachari, Inani, Patuatek, and other tourist attractions.
Tourism businessmen, beach workers, and tourist police are busy hosting tourists.
Abul Kashem Sikder, general secretary of the Cox's Bazar Hotel Motel Guest House Owners' Association, said that some 90% of rooms have already been reserved for the '31st Night' (New Year's Eve) celebration this year.
Read more: Revellers gather in Cox's Bazar to usher in New Year
Executive Magistrate Masum Billah, in charge of the tourism cell of the district administration, said that like every year, lakhs of tourists have gathered at Cox's Bazar beach to welcome the year 2023.
Md. Zillur Rahman, Police Superintendent of Tourist Police, said that the tourist police have also taken several security measures to ensure the safety of tourists.
“Additional police will be deployed in Himchari, Inani, and Patuartek zones when the St. Martin cruise starts on January 1,” he said.
Read more: Cox's Bazar: Long weekend over Xmas a fillip for domestic tourism
Revellers gather in Cox's Bazar to usher in New Year
Cox's Bazar is all set to welcome the New Year with characteristic fervour, with thousands of tourists having already gathered at the beach resort town to welcome in 2023 on the Gregorian calendar.
Most hotels, motels, resorts, and guest houses have been pre-booked by tourists, and what is left should soon be gone too.
However, due to security concerns, there will be no outdoor events in Cox's Bazar.
Abu Sufian, additional district magistrate of Cox’s Bazar, announced as per government ban, no outdoor event is allowed on the beach this year.
Read: Cox's Bazar: Long weekend over Xmas a fillip for domestic tourism
However, people from all over the country will visit Cox's Bazar to witness the last sunset of 2022 and the first sunrise of 2023. There will also be a number of indoor festivities scheduled in various hotels to ring in the New Year.
Abul Kashem Sikder, general secretary of the Cox's Bazar Hotel Motel Guest House Owners' Association, said that several thousand tourists are expected to visit Cox's Bazar, and 70% of rooms have already been reserved for the '31st Night' (New Year's Eve) celebration this year.
No event will be held on the beach as there is a government ban on holding events outdoors. As a result, hotels and motels are not yet fully booked, said Abul Kashem.
Tourist dies in Cox’s Bazar
A 52-year-old tourist died while taking bath at Sugandha point of the sea beach in Cox’s Bazar on Monday.
The deceased was identified as Iqbal Hossain, 52 of Tongi in Gazipur district.
Masud Billah, acting executive magistrate of Tourist Cell under the local administration, said Iqbal along with six other members of his family went to the beach area at noon.
Read: Tourist dies after hot water shower at Cox's Bazar hotel
At one stage, Iqbal fell unconscious while bathing in the sea.
Later, workers of local administration rescued him and took him to Sadar Hospital where doctors declared him dead.
Cox's Bazar: Long weekend over Xmas a fillip for domestic tourism
The spectacular coastline of tourism hub Cox's Bazar, adorned with the world's longest unbroken beach has been buzzing in the last couple of days thanks to the weekly holiday over the weekend melding with Christmas on Sunday - a national holiday - leading to a very busy time for the tourism sector, as well as the many ancillary businesses that tend to spring up in busy tourist spots.
Tourist police along with the district administration anticipated the surge, allowing them to take timely measures to scale up the security for the revellers.
Hotel authorities said some 90 percent of their rooms are booked, with people arriving, entourage after entourage, to visit this magnificent beach since Thursday afternoon.
The overcrowding of tourists from several parts of the country was caused by the government’s weekends on December 23, 24 and the Christmas Day on December 25.
Visiting several spots and residential hotels, the UNB correspondent observed a huge crowd of tourists at the beach, while in some sort of peripheral vision, we could see that some people were rushing with their luggage, their valuables from one hotel to another, as whatever rooms were left kept flying off the shelves.
Read more: Security concern hits Cox’s Bazar tourism hard
Those who managed rooms were found enjoying with their dear and near ones at the Inani and Himchhari beaches, or in the Buddhist Temples of Ramu, and even Saint Martin's, the coral island, and Adhinath Temple Maheshkhali.
Mohammad Foez, manager of the exquisitely named ‘Hotel Of The President’, said although tourist season started with the beginninging of the December every year, they got a poor response from the tourists this year.
“At the end of the month all the rooms of our hotel have already been booked and we would be able to recover our loss,” he said.
Anowar Kamal, president of ‘Tour Operator Association of Cox’s Bazar’, said there had been an adverse business for the past few days but with the overflow of tourists the beach city got to work up a head of momentum, that it could hopefully now use without hesitation.
Sherin Alam, assistant superintendent of tourist police (Cox’s Bazar Zone), hopes to see tens of thousands of tourists visit Cox's beach city over 'the long weekend'.
“Several teams of tourist police have been working to ensure security of the tourists and we are always vigilant,” he said.
Read more: Cox’s Bazar beach: Dedicated zone for women walked back
Masum Billah, an executive magistrate of the district administration, said they have always been alert for the sake of security of the tourists and keeping an eye on excessive prices of all things including foods.
Monster made of plastic waste at Cox’s Bazar to spread awareness
The tourists visiting Cox’s Bazar now will come across a unique, 38-foot long and 14-feet wide monster made out of plastic waste, standing at the sea beach with the message of how plastic pollution reached such an intimidating scale around them.
Sixteen volunteers worked for seven days to bring the statue to life designed by Abir Karmakar, a former student of the Fine Arts department of Dhaka University under an anti-plastic initiative of the Bidyanondo Foundation.
The huge monster placed at Sugandha Point of the beach attracted a lot of attention from locals and visiting tourists already. Plastic waste like chips packets, water bottles, broken buckets, chairs, and balls was seen used in creating the awareness-raising monster.
Read: Beach photographer stabbed to death in Cox's Bazar
Nadira Kanon, a tourist from Dhaka said, “It’s great to see such an initiative taken in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar as we should all be aware to stop the plastic monster. We have to make people see that plastic waste is actually wreaking havoc on the oceans.”
Abir Karmakar, who planned the statu, said 20 sacks of plastic waste collected from Cox’s Bazar and Saint Martin’s island have been used to build this monster.
Eight volunteers including him and four carpenters worked hard for the last seven days to build this monster to raise awareness among people against plastic waste and its repercussions, he said.
The district administration along with Bidyanondo Foundation is trying to give a message that the accumulated plastic waste and its pollution is turning into a monster day by day and posing a great risk for lives and the environment, said Cox’s Bazar Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Shaheen Imran.
He said the statue will be kept there on the beach for the next two months as part of the awareness campaign.
Bidyanondo Foundation organisers said a team of their volunteers had been campaigning to collect plastic waste at Saint Martin’s Island for the last few days.
Read: Cox's Bazar: Football fan falls to death while hanging Brazil flag
On Tuesday, the first day of the collection campaign locals brought four Metric Tons of plastic waste which was brought by 400 local families at the ‘Plastic Exchange Store’ set up by the organisers.
In exchange, they took rice, pulse, oil, sugar, salt, clothes and other essentials worth Tk 4,20,000, said the organisers. Each family will get the chance to exchange plastic waste for essential commodities once every month from this unique store, they said.