Over 500 structures cleared from Sugandha Beach in Cox's Bazar after 20 years of encroachment

More than 500 structures were removed from Sugandha Beach in Cox’s Bazar today, ending nearly 20 years of encroachment after an ultimatum from the administration.

Facing strict measures, traders dismantled their shops and removed goods on their own, officials told The Daily Star. However, affected traders demanded quick rehabilitation.

Officials said the administration had set a deadline until 10:00am Sunday (March 15, 2026) for removing the structures built on Sugandha Beach. As many traders had not complied, around 12:00pm members of the district administration, army, Rab, police and Ansar reached the spot and began announcing the directive through loudspeakers.

Soon after, traders started removing their shops and structures voluntarily. The process continued until about 3:00pm, they said.

One trader, Mohammad Sohel, said, “We had to remove our shops. It is the month of Ramadan and Eid is in a few days. Only Allah knows what our future holds. I do not know what to tell my children. I have not even been able to buy them Eid clothes yet because our shops remained closed mostly over the past month and sales were very poor.”

Seashell seller Shahidul Islam said, “Respecting the administration’s decision, we removed our shops ourselves. Many of us invested in our shops, taking out loans, in hope of good business during Eid. Now, due to the sudden eviction, we have suffered losses of around Tk 500,000 to Tk 600,000. Only Allah knows how we will recover these losses.”

Officials said similar eviction drives will also be conducted gradually against structures built on Laboni and Kolatoli beaches.

Cox’s Bazar district administration executive magistrate (tourism cell) Monju Bin Afnan said vendors had removed their shops from the area on their own.

Regarding rehabilitation, he said the final decision would be taken by higher authorities. “Traders can submit their complaints or demands to the authorities and those issues will be considered before taking necessary decisions,” he said.

He added that the authorities will first clear out the beach and then gradually carry out activities to restore order across the entire area.

Following instructions from the home minister, the district administration has removed around 630 structures from different points of Cox’s Bazar beach over the past three days.