Desk Report:
Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Advisor to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change and the Ministry of Water Resources, said that the entry of tourists to St. Martin’s Island in Teknaf has never been stopped.
She said this while speaking as the chief guest at the Marc Angelo River Award ceremony at Pani Bhaban in Panthapath in the capital today (September 27).
The advisor said, “There is a lot of propaganda about the entry of tourists to St. Martin’s Island. We have never stopped the entry of tourists to St. Martin’s Island. However, to go there, you have to follow some rules and regulations. We have asked them to implement that. There is still no restriction for anyone to go to St. Martin’s Island. However, they will not be able to wait there for more than two hours after getting off the ship.”
Syeda Rizwana Hasan said, “A ban was issued on overnight stays in 2016. Our government is only implementing it. That is, there is no restriction for anyone to enter St. Martin’s Island, but they will not be able to stay there for more than two hours. We will get off the ship and inspect it and come back.’
The advisor said, ‘St. Martin Island can be visited all year round. However, during the rainy season, there is some difficulty in travelling due to the rough waves of the sea, so there are some restrictions on going during this time. We are working to protect haors, baors, canals, beels, and rivers. We have taken reports from the district administrators to depollute 64 rivers in 64 districts. Reports have come from 63 districts except Bandarban district. Out of these, initially, we have taken projects to depollute 18 rivers including Halda, Karatoya, Turag, and Kirtankhola. We hope to be able to start work by December.’
The advisor said, ‘A project has been taken up from the World Bank to depollute four rivers including Turag, Balu, and Shitalakshya. “With our current interim government in place, activities in this regard will be visible in December.” Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Administrator Mohammad Ejaz Hossain, Bangladesh River Foundation Chairman Monir Hossain, and Water Development Board Director General Enayetullah spoke at the event. The event, chaired by Nature and Life Foundation Chairman Abdul Mukit Majumder Babu, awarded three people for their special contributions to making rivers pollution-free.
