Administration halts construction of Kuakata hotel-resort built without approval

The local administration has halted construction of the Istanbul Hotel and Resort in Kuakata, Patuakhali, because it did not have proper approval from the authorities. Construction of the structure was stopped on Tuesday (27 October) afternoon.

Present at the time were Md Arifuzzaman, member-secretary of the Kuakata beach management committee and Kalapara upazila nirbahi officer (UNO), and Md Yasin Sadek, administrator of Kuakata municipality and assistant commissioner (land).

After construction was halted, Kuakata municipality and the Kalapara upazila administration hung a prohibition banner at the construction site. The banner states that activities have been declared closed by order because construction was carried out without approval from the proper authority, and that strict legal action will be taken against anyone defying the order.

The Istanbul project spans about 21 acres and 66 decimals of land under SA khatian No. 292 in Latachapli mouza of Kalapara upazila. A mosque and a convention hall were under construction in the project area. Construction of the hotel began after this year's national parliamentary election in an area adjoining Musulliabad village in the Kuakata municipal area. Development work on at least six acres of land, including a boundary wall, has already been completed in the project area.

According to local sources, the Istanbul Hotel and Resort project is being supervised by Masud Sayedee, the Jamaat-e-Islami member of parliament (MP) for Pirojpur-1. He is the son of the late Jamaat leader Delawar Hossain Sayedee.

There is promotional campaigning on social media for investment in the Istanbul Hotel and Resort. The campaign describes the project as Bangladesh's 'halal tourism' and says shares in the project can be owned for as little as five lakh taka.

Kuakata municipality administrator Md Yasin Sadek said building a structure without approval is a punishable offence under the building construction law. Moreover, under Kuakata's master plan this land is allocated for railway installations, which is why construction has been stopped. He added that in the current BS survey the land falls under Kuakata municipality.

Meanwhile, Rakhine Umachan, a resident of Haripara in Kalapara upazila, has filed a case in a civil court claiming ownership of the land. He claims the land belonged to his grandfather.

The project's local representative, Monir Musulli, said it is a large project and that they have obtained all documents from the Fire Service and the Department of Environment. They have also applied to the Barishal divisional commissioner's office for building construction permission and have even taken a no-objection certificate from Kuakata municipality. He said that despite all this, the stoppage of work makes them feel there is a big political game behind it.