Kuakata finds itself again

What a peaceful morning! Fish are swimming in shoals by the shore. Until recently, such a scene was rare. Now the air filled with the sound of birds. On the sand, red crabs scuttle here and there.

This is Kuakata. Normally the place throngs with tourists and motorised trawlers, scaring away the fish, birds and crabs. But now there is an enforced holiday in country and there are hardly any people on the Kuakata sea beach. There is no pollution either.

The local people say the fish have increased in huge numbers near the shore. The beach is clean, no trash scattered here and there. Environmentalists say Kuakata has found itself again.

The 18 km sandy stretch of Kuakata sea beach lies at the southern-most point of Kalapara upazila, Patuakhali. The scenic beauty of the beach changes along with the change of the seasons. It is a calm haven in winter, a stormy shore during the monsoons.

Kuakata draws tourists with its beautiful sunrises and sunsets. There is a steady influx of local and foreign visitors at the beach throughout the year.

In 1998 Kuakata was declared a tourist spot and since then tourists from within the country and outside have flocked there. Investors too wasted no time in setting up hotels and motels around the town. It has become a scenic tourism town of the south.

But the crowds also altered the peace and calm of Kuakata and filled it with hustle and bustle. The garbage of the seaside hotels, plastic bottles, trash polluted the beach and filled the air with a stench. There were all sorts of transport and engine-run vessels, disrupted the ecology of Kuakata. The red crabs had almost disappeared altogether.

With the outbreak of coronavirus, the Patuakhali district administration halted tourist vehicles in the area from 19 March and then the entire district was put on lockdown.

Now the beach has no tourists. The hotels, motels and shops are all closed. The beach is pristine and clean. There is no pollution, no garbage. Fish dart around the water happily.

Red crabs are out and about again on the Kuakata beach and at Gangamati Point. During low tide goes in the morning and evening, these crabs scuttle all over in huge numbers, creating a beautiful design on the sand.

Managing director of the Kuakata Tourist Centre, Ruman Imtiaz, said, "The beauty of Kuakata draws in the tourists, but with everything closed down and no tourists, Kuakata has found itself again. Even when the tourists come back, initiative must be taken to maintain the beauty of Kuakata."

Lecturer of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University’s department of fisheries, aquaculture and marine science faculty, Mir Mohammad Ali, said that with no tourists around, there is no pollution at the beach and its surrounding area. So naturally there are so many fishes and other aquatic life in the water near the shore.