Although there are more than 500 hotels, motels, and other residential establishments in Cox’s Bazar, only four of these have their own Sewerage Treatment Plant (STP), which is turning the tourist city into an open gutter. According to Abu Sufian, an Additional District Magistrate who is also the In-charge of the district administration’s tourist cell, only three five-star and one three-star hotels in Cox’s Bazar have STP systems. “There are eight more luxurious hotels which don’t have STP. We’ve told the star-labeled hotels to establish their own STP and have decided to bring the existing hotels under a centralized STP system,” Sufian said. Saiful Islam, Assistant Director of Department of Environment in Cox’s Bazar, said that the government has asked more than 300 hotels to set up STP system regardless of the fact that most of these hotels don’t have space for STP. Read more: JS body suggests stern action to prevent illegal sand extraction in Cox's Bazar “Most of the hotels adjacent to the beach have been constructed without following environmental laws, and bad smell coming out of the excrement released from these hotels is resulting in the loss of tourists. That’s why the district administration in association with Cox’s Bazar Development Authority, Cox’s Bazar municipality and Department of Environment have jointly agreed to establish a central STP system,” Saiful said. Mohammad Junaid, General Secretary of Cox’s Bazar Forest and Environment Protection Council, said that the government should ensure that any new infrastructure in Cox’s Bazar is set up after receiving clearance from the environment department.