Tourists Flock to Kuakata for Beach Carnival: Hotels Full, Special Security Ring in Place

Centred on the Beach Carnival, Kuakata, the 'daughter of the sea', remained crowded with tourists on Friday (October 23) as well. Residential hotels, motels and resorts were booked long in advance, creating a room shortage. Local people believe the tourist centre may see an overwhelming crowd on Saturday (October 24), a holiday.

Although the Puja holiday ended on Thursday (October 22), countless tourists and visitors have arrived in Kuakata for the Beach Carnival festival. Tourist spots including the confluence of three rivers, Lembur forest, the dried-fish village, the casuarina grove, Gangamati and the red crab beach are all seeing extra visitors.

At the beach's zero point, people of all ages, including children and teenagers, are enjoying themselves, making merry and swimming in the sea. Some are sitting on beach benches enjoying the natural beauty, some are walking hand in hand from one end of the beach to the other, and some are capturing happy moments on mobile phones or photographers' cameras as memories.

A special security ring has already been created in coordination between the Tourist Police and the district police to ensure the safety of the large number of tourists. Visitors are enjoying bathing in the salty sea water and playing games.

A festive atmosphere now prevails in Kuakata around the Beach Carnival. Arches, banners, festoons and LED TVs have been installed along the roads and beach area. The two-day festival includes beach football, a beach marathon, a kite festival, a painting competition, manuscript reading, a cultural evening, Baul songs, a tourism documentary, volleyball, celebrity beach cricket, a fashion show and fireworks.

Singers Arman Alif, Hasan (Ark) and Oishi, along with other renowned artists of the country, will perform at the cultural programme. Local artists will also perform at the carnival. Nearly one hundred thousand tourists and visitors have registered to enjoy the Beach Carnival and take part in its various events.

The Beach Carnival has been organised at the initiative of the Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation. Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister M Rashiduzzaman Millat MP will formally inaugurate the carnival as chief guest. Special guests will include State Minister for Planning Junaid Abdur Rahim Saki MP, Patuakhali-1 MP and former minister Altaf Hossain Chowdhury MP, local MP ABM Mosharraf Hossain MP and reserved women's seat MP Miz Sultana Jesmin Jui. Civil Aviation and Tourism Secretary Dr Nurunnahar Chowdhury NDC will also attend.

Meanwhile, although Kuakata has more than three hundred residential hotels, motels and resorts, tourists who arrived without bookings are facing a room shortage because everything was booked in advance. There are also complaints against many hotels of exploiting the crowd — charging 10 taka for tea, 250 taka per green coconut, arbitrary van and auto fares, inflated food bills and higher room rents.

Kuakata Residential Hotel Motel Owners Association president MA Motaleb Sharif said most hotels, motels and resorts have already been booked, and some room shortage may appear as visitors exceed capacity. Denying the overcharging complaints, he said association-member hotels are charging the fixed rent, and advised people to approach the administration if a non-member hotel charges extra.

Kuakata Tourist Police in-charge Inspector Md Nazmul Islam said a security ring has already been created for visitors' safety. Members of the district police and SRB, along with intelligence personnel in plain clothes, will keep special watch. Traffic police patrols, along with Kuakata Municipality, will maintain order on roads and highways. Large numbers of district police, station police, naval police and tourist police have been deployed.

Kuakata municipal administrator and Upazila Assistant Commissioner (Land) Md Yasin Sadek said the municipal administration is ready round the clock for tourists' safety and judicial work through mobile courts continues. Kalapara Upazila Nirbahi Officer and Beach Management Committee member secretary Md Arifuzzaman said no unjust behaviour towards tourists will be tolerated; a fire service, medical team and information service centre have been set up, and the Patuakhali district administration is determined to ensure safety.

Sales have risen at tourism-dependent businesses around the Puja holiday and the Beach Carnival, bringing relief to traders. Tourists said that alongside watching the sunrise and sunset, the natural beauty and the Beach Carnival are an added attraction. If the crowd grows further on Saturday's holiday, the administration's security and price monitoring will be the visitors' main assurance of comfort.