Desk Report:
Educational institutions are on a 12-day holiday until October 9 on the occasion of Sharadi Durga Puja and Probarana Purnima. Many people have gone out with their families during this long holiday. As a result, as usual, travelers have flocked to Cox’s Bazar, the country’s main tourist destination, to spend their vacation.
Meanwhile, October 1 and 2 are government holidays on the occasion of Sharadi Durga Puja. The next two days are weekly holidays, and employees of government and private organizations are also getting four days off. Overall, tourism-related businessmen are expecting a surge in tourists to Cox’s Bazar during the long holiday at the beginning of the tourist season.
Hotel owners say that tourists from different parts of the country have been heading to Cox’s Bazar since Thursday afternoon. The tourist crowd has increased since Friday.
Managing Director of Tripzone Travels in Cox’s Bazar, Jiku Pal, said that 100% of rooms have been booked in hotels, motels, resorts and guest houses until Saturday. A 35 percent discount has been given on most room rates on the occasion of World Tourism Day.
Saiful Alam, director of Prabal Tourism, said that more than a lakh tourists will visit Cox’s Bazar daily until October 5. Room bookings are being made accordingly.
Abul Kashem Sikder, president of the Hotel-Motel, Resort and Guest House Owners Association, said that 170,000 tourists have the opportunity to spend the night in more than a hundred hotels, motels, resorts and guest houses in Cox’s Bazar city, Marine Drive and surrounding areas. The expected tourist response is being received at the beginning of the current tourist season, which is good news for tourism. Tourism-related businessmen are always being warned not to harass tourists under any circumstances.
The Kalatali, Laboni and Sugandha points of Cox’s Bazar beach have been bustling with tourists since last Friday. Belal Hossain, assistant supervisor of the beach workers of the district administration, said that these three points in the city have been packed with tourists since Friday morning. Along with this, many people are going to visit the beaches of Dariyanagar, Himchhari, Inani and Teknaf via Marine Drive.
The Bay of Bengal has been rough for a few days due to hostile weather. Along with this, it is also getting very hot. Warning signal number 3 is in effect at Cox’s Bazar seaport. On Saturday afternoon, when we went to Sugandha and Laboni beaches, we saw that the waves of the rough sea were crashing on the beach. There were clouds in the sky. In the meantime, tourists of different ages were taking a bath in the sea. Lifeguards and beach workers are warning tourists in various ways.
Shamim Azad, a bank officer, came to visit with his family from Lohagara in Narail. He said, “I went out for a visit as the children are on school holidays. I have also taken advance leave from the office. This time I will be able to visit for a long time.”
Many like him have come to visit Cox’s Bazar on special holidays. Businessman Sumon Chowdhury came from Beanibazar in Sylhet. He arrived on Saturday morning with his wife and two children. Sumon Chowdhury said, “My children have always loved the beach in Cox’s Bazar. That’s why I come here once or twice a year when I get the chance.” However, he mentioned that there is no other entertainment in Cox’s Bazar after evening, except for seeing the beach.
Imtiaz Ahmed, regional officer of C-Safe Life Guard, has requested to follow the instructions when bathing on the beach due to the rough sea.
He said, “Now the sea is rough, along with the secret channel, it is important to follow the instructions of the lifeguard to avoid risks.” He also said that red flags have been hung in risky places and a campaign is being run to avoid bathing in places where red flags are hung.
Tourist Police Cox’s Bazar region chief and additional DIG Apel Mahmud said, “Along with the tourist police, law enforcement forces are performing their duty round the clock for the safety of tourists. We are keeping an eye on this so that tourists do not suffer.”
The newly-joined Deputy Commissioner of Cox’s Bazar, Md. A. Mannan said that the district administration has taken a coordinated initiative to ensure services to tourists.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh Railway has decided to run 4 pairs of ‘Puja Special’ trains on the Dhaka-Cox’s Bazar and Dhaka-Chittagong routes to meet the increased passenger demand on the occasion of Durga Puja. According to the decision, 3 pairs of trains will run on the Dhaka-Cox’s Bazar route and 1 pair on the Dhaka-Chittagong route from September 30 to October 4.
