Lack of Planned Sewage Drains: Wastewater Directly into the Ocean

In Bangladesh’s most popular tourist destination, Cox’s Bazar, wastewater from 400 to 500 hotels, motels, and commercial businesses is dumped straight into the Bay of Bengal since there is no established sewage control system in place. Every day, canals, sewers, and natural streams carry hundreds of thousands of litres of untreated trash into the ocean, where it mixes with tidal waters used for bathing by both local and foreign tourists. Raw sewage, according to experts, seriously endangers marine biodiversity, deteriorates ocean water quality, and puts swimsuits at risk for eye and skin illnesses.

A modern sewage network has never been given the infrastructure priority it deserves, according to tourism stakeholders and concerned locals, despite the region’s quick growth. Widespread mismanagement, unlawful encroachments along the beach, and an ongoing absence of long-term solutions for basic sanitation, garbage disposal, and traffic control have all been alleged. Concerned locals referred to Cox’s Bazar as one of the premier brand names of Bangladesh’s tourism, stressing that ‘unplanned sewage and waste management cannot be allowed to deteriorate the reputation of this tourism city’.

Stakeholders have called for prompt, coordinated action from the government, local authorities, and the Beach Management Committee in order to restore order and safeguard the destination’s reputation abroad. They call for the quick construction of a contemporary drainage system, the establishment of central wastewater treatment facilities, the removal of unauthorised beachgoers, and stringent enforcement of environmental regulations. Sector leaders emphasise that it is now the call of the hour to take joint action to guarantee a clean, safe, and encroachment-free tourism area in order to protect public health and maintain the marine environment.