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The government limited tourist gatherings at Sundarbans, a Unesco World Heritage site, on 19 March to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Sundarbans tourism companies, greatly affected by the consequences of coronavirus, are eagerly awaiting the reopening of their livelihoods in the world’s largest mangrove forest, as they have suffered massive losses in the past five months.
The government limited tourist gatherings at Sundarbans, a Unesco World Heritage site, on 19 March to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Tourism-based commercial homes and thousands of in the sector have remained almost inactive ever since.
Thousands of people interested in the Sundarban-centric tourism sector have been through a critical period and wasted their income resources.
The tourist season in Sundarbans begins just after the monsoon, as it is the best time to enjoy the good appearance of mangrove landscapes, but entrepreneurs see no hope because the government does not yet have legal tourism in the forest, according to the sources.
Addressing UNB, tour operators and hiking-related entrepreneurs said that some hiking sites had already been reopened but that no resolution had yet been made on the authorization of hikers in Sundarbans, frustration among them.
There are nine tourist sites in Sundarbans and more than 45,000 tourists in the regions from November to March, the peak time for Sundarbans tourism.
Belayet Hossain, Divisional Forestry Officer (DFO) for the East Sundarbans, said that in an effort to stop the coronavirus pandemic, the government imposed a restriction on tourist access as the movement of river boats to Sundarbans on March 19.
“A resolution has not yet arrived to reopen the tourist sites of Sundarbans and that depends on the ministry in question,” he said.
On 17 August, the Local Authority of Cox’s Bazar legalized the reopening of the beaches, hotels, motels and commercial institutions of the municipality on a stopover after a long closure, but a resolution has not yet been taken on the authorization of tourists in Sundarbans.
In addition, the government allowed tourists to enter the Sundarbans at Dakkhin Rai Dera in India from 15 June.
Moinul Islam Jamaddar, president of the Tour Operators Association, said that all tourist sites, adding Kuakata, have been reopened and that there will be no challenge if the government tourists in Sundarbans as this will generate revenue.
Hundreds of employees and more than 50 boats belonging to 70 tour operators have remained unemployed in the last five months, he said.
“Three to four months are counted as a tourist season in the Sundarbans and tourism-related employers have to pay their staff salaries throughout the year. If the government takes any action to lift the restriction, then it will be hurt by massive revenue while tourism will collapse here, “said Moinul Islam.
The DFO reported that 1,04,97,658 Tk collected as a source of income in fiscal 2019-2020, while some 1,07384 tourists visited the Sundarbans last year.
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8 / C, FR Tower, Panthapath, Dhaka 1207, Bangladesh.
Kazi Anis Ahmed, editor