Four served contempt notices over construction on Cox’s Bazar beach sand

Notices of contempt of court have been served on four officials, including the Cox’s Bazar deputy commissioner, over allegations of violating a High Court order by allowing construction work to resume on the sand dunes of Cox’s Bazar sea beach.

The notices were served on Cox’s Bazar Deputy Commissioner MA Mannan, Project Director Rashidur Rahman, Cox’s Bazar Municipality Executive Officer Adnan Chowdhury and JICA Bangladesh representative Takahashi Janko.

Manzill Murshid, a senior Supreme Court lawyer and president of Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB), issued the notices on Thursday.

According to the notices, media reports recently highlighted the resumption of construction work on the beach under a project initiated by Cox’s Bazar Municipality with funding from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

The lawyer said the construction allegedly violates a 2011 High Court judgment issued following a writ petition filed by HRPB in the public interest.

The petition was filed after reports emerged that various structures were being built on the sand of Cox’s Bazar sea beach, allegedly damaging the natural characteristics and beauty of the world’s longest natural sandy sea beach.

Following hearings, the court directed the authorities to protect the natural beauty of Cox’s Bazar beach and prohibited the construction of structures on the sand, according to the notice.

It also said structures previously built on the beach in violation of the court’s directives had been removed twice following court orders.

“Despite the specific directions of the court and the previous removal of structures built on the sand on two occasions, construction activities have again been started on the beach under an initiative of Cox’s Bazar Municipality,” the notice said.

Manzill Murshid termed the alleged construction a violation of the court’s order and warned that it could amount to contempt of court.

The notices asked the recipients to stop the construction work within 24 hours.

Failure to do so would prompt the lawyer to initiate contempt of court proceedings against them, according to the notices.