Patenga beach is not even safe to set foot on, millions of tourists

Patenga beach is not even safe to set foot on, millions of tourists

Patenga Beach is located a little away from the main city of Chittagong. People from the city and surrounding areas come to enjoy the beauty of this beach throughout the year. People from outside the district are also among the visitors. Compared to other times of the year, tourists flock to the beach during the Eid holidays. Thousands of people come to spend time to see the sea to celebrate the joy of Eid. The beach area is full of people from morning to afternoon, evening to night.

This picture did not change today, Wednesday. People of different classes and professions of different ages started coming to Patenga Beach from the afternoon on Eid. The crowd of tourists was still there today.

Tourists visiting the beach can be seen wandering in groups. Many go down to the sand of the beach and bathe in the sea. Some ride speedboats. Six college-going friends from Mirsarai, Chittagong came to visit this afternoon. One of them is Saleh Naqib. He said that long holidays are available during Eid. Friends also come to the village. Everyone goes to different places for Eid every year. This time, however, they did not go far. They came to Patenga beach.

After the construction of the Outer Ring Road from Sagarika in the city to Patenga and the tunnel under the Karnaphuli River in Patenga, the previously familiar atmosphere of this area has changed. The area next to the Outer Ring Road built on the edge of the Bay of Bengal has also become a place for visitors to wander.

Shahadat Hossain, a job holder, came from Hathazari in Chittagong with his wife and two children. He said that this time he got a long holiday for Eid. So he came here with his children and wife to visit. He visited Patenga beach and tunnel. The atmosphere of the beach today has changed a lot since their childhood. From Monday to Wednesday, more than one lakh people came to visit the Patenga beach area on Eid, said Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Patenga Police Station Shafiqul Islam. He told Prothom Alo that during the Eid holidays, people have flocked to Patenga beach. Thousands of people have brought their families, relatives and friends. Despite the large number of tourists, there was no chaos. They were active from the beginning.

Recently, three parks in Chittagong were closed. The closure of these three parks in Agrabad, Kazir Deuri and Bahaddarhat areas has increased the pressure of visitors on the remaining entertainment centers. In addition to Patenga beach, there was a huge presence of people visiting the Chittagong Zoo, Foy’s Lake and the banks of the Karnaphuli River. About 40,000 people visited the zoo in three days. Visitors to the zoo were more interested in tigers, lions, deer and monkeys. There was a constant crowd of visitors in front of the cages of these animals. Children and teenagers were more interested in seeing animals.

Deputy curator of Chittagong Zoo Shahadat Hossain told Prothom Alo that this time there was a rush of visitors since Eid. More than 40,000 people came to visit in three days. The Eid holidays are not over yet. He hopes that this crowd will continue for the next two to three days.

Foy’s Lake is next to the zoo. There was a rush of visitors there too. There are three parts here – Foy’s Lake Concord Amusement, Sea World and Basecamp. There is a loud presence of people everywhere. Hundreds of people are having fun in the swimming pool of Sea World. People of all ages are having fun in the water slides. Many children and teenagers are also riding the rides in the park.

Bishwajit Ghosh, manager (marketing) of Concord, the company that manages Foy’s Lake Complex, told Prothom Alo that this time six new rides have been added. This has increased people’s interest.