An unhealthy competition between travel agencies and irresponsible behaviour of tourists have endangered the natural ecosystem of newly-emerged island ‘Char Bijoy’ in the Bay of Bengal, about 40 kms southeast off the Kuakata sea beach.   The 5,000-acre island is home to thousands of migratory birds and countless red crabs. When the crabs crawl out of the ground, the entire island seems from afar that it is covered in a red carpet. The flocking of so many birds in the island at the same time gives it a picturesque look.   As the name of this island found traction in mass media, its popularity began to rise and ‘Char Bijoy’ added a new dimension to the tourist attraction of Kuakata.   As more and more tourists arrive at Kuakata, the local travel agencies have resorted to an unhealthy completion to take as many tourists to the island as possible. The absence of any directive from the Tourism Ministry about visiting ‘Char Bijoy’ made their job even easier.