Gazetted Kuakata “Master Plan” gathering dust on LGED desk

Fishing boats just off the beach in Kuakata

The much-awaited Kuakata master plan was gazetted in November 2014, but officials in Dhaka are still sitting on it, not taking any steps to notify authorities for its implementation.
A futuristic 30-year Kuakata Master Plan should otherwise now be in force to prevent unplanned and haphazard growth of this highly potential tourist hub on the beaches of the Bay of Bengal, 330 kilometers south of capital Dhaka.
The constitutional approval of the Master Plan is also supposed to put an end to an official ban on land sale or purchase, construction or any other development in Kuakata until the gazette was notified. Investors welcomed the breaking news that lied under piles of files for nearly seven months until reportsbd.com knocked on the door of LGED.
Mostafa Shiblee, an USA Ashoka Fellow who has invested on social developments on various sectors including holiday home-making in Kuakata, expressed his dismay at the delay in announcement of the notification of the master plan of Kuakata.
“Timely announcement could have secured a good amount of revenue for the exchequer and money circulation for the local people,” says Shiblee, adding, “ I believe that the master plan would help Kuakata develop in a socially, environmentally sustainable way and attract the highest traffic of tourists to this area from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, China and the western countries,” Shiblee adds.
From now on, any construction or development work within 82.5 square kilometers of Kuakata has to be mandatorily approved in line with the master plan.

Two fisherman doing the repair work on their fishing net on the Kuakata beach

The concept of formulating Master Plan for each Municipality of the country comes at a time when unplanned, haphazard and unauthorized urbanization have beset the entirety of the country. Bangladesh is one of the fastest growing economies in south Asia but poor governance in almost every sphere of its growth is giving rise to dangerous irregularities in sensitive sectors like urbanization too.
Mosleuddin, the project director of the master plans for municipalities at the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) in Dhaka says they would soon notify the Kuakata Municipality, the district administration in Patuakhali, the Ministry of Works and Housing, Local Government and Rural Development Ministry and Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation for implementing the master plan that took over three years to complete.
Kuakata master plan envisages a three-tier plan, which includes structural, zoning and tourism development plans. That means any structural development would have to be as suggested by the plan. Not every one would be allowed to use the land as he or she intents to. Shops, hotels and restaurants are to be at places designated by the plan. Any new structures political or social, are to be at places suggested by the town planners, consultants employed by the LGED, and funded by the exchequer.
Town Planner, Afsana M Kamal, Director of the Sheltech Consultants (Pvt) Ltd, the company that prepared the plan, says it is now up to the government to ensure proper implementation of the master plan.
“We have done our job and we really want to see its implementation for a healthy growth of Kuakata as a tourist destination,” Afsana says.
The name Kuakata literally means a dug-up well. It is believed, it was a favorite destination for Portuguese pirates looking for fresh water during raids in this region. Finding of a 200-year old wooden schooner in July, 2012 under the beaches corroborates the belief. In 2013, the army engineers salvaged the ancient sail ship, found three kilometers away from the actual “dug-up well”, and painstakingly placed it in a makeshift museum nearby.
Kuakata is also a famous place for Hindu pilgrimage. During the Raas Mela (fair), once a year, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims converge on the beaches to take a spectacular dip in the bay.

One of the three unfinished bridges which are being constructed

It is also home to a large Rakhaine community of Buddhist faith. One theory suggests that many Rakhaines came here from Myanmar in 1784 with around 50 boats, in order to escape from persecution and torture of Bodpaya, who captured the power after defeating Thamada, the then king of the Arakan province. The Buddhists have their temples with ancient Buddha statues all around Kuakata.
Kuakata is the only beach in the region from where both sunset and sunrise can be watched. It has a 31-km long unspoiled beach with age-old natural reserve forests along.
Accessibility has been the greatest deterrent to Kuakata’s expansion as a tourist destination. From Dhaka one is required to cross five ferries across wide rivers. The news is, within a year or two (50 percent work already completed on three bridges) construction of three bridges would be completed, drastically cutting down the amount of travel time.
This deterrence worked as a blessing in disguise.  The entire island still remains pristine with nature in full blossom. Mangrove forests, beautiful earthen paths, lively canals and fishermen’s activities on the beach are all so beautiful. It is a culmination between nature and man.
In terms of investment, Kuakata has never been shy of aggressive and pompous real estate owners, always announcing new endeavors. In response to this, land prices have been continuously increasing. However, such developments take place without any proper planning or thinking, and this is exactly why this ‘Master Plan’ is of such importance. It is believed with the careful implementation of proper planning, Kuakata would be far more closer to reach its potential as a tourist hub.
Report and photographs by: Morshed Ali Khan

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Posted by Reportsbd on Jun 10 2015. Filed under Home Slide, National, Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry