Bangladesh orders 24 resorts near Sundarbans to suspend operations

Bangladesh’s Department of Environment (DoE) has ordered 24 resorts near the Sundarbans to suspend operations and remove their structures within 30 days, The Business Standard reported Oct. 18.

The department cited restrictions on development in ecologically critical areas. The resorts include 18 in Khulna, two in Bagerhat, and four in Satkhira. Khondaker Md Fazlul Haque, director of the DoE’s Khulna divisional office, said earlier notices had produced unsatisfactory responses.

Resort owners dispute the orders, saying their businesses occupy private land in populated areas outside the forest and provide local jobs. Their association wants clear operating and approval rules.

Environmental experts warned that noise, lighting, and poorly managed waste could harm wildlife. Khulna University professor Abdullah Harun Chowdhury said establishing pollution attributable to individual resorts would require field investigations and testing.