Patenga beach needs boost to attract tourists (video)

The famous Patenga beach has been attracting tourists with its scenic beauty for decades. The rumbling waves of the sea, the natural beauty, its location inside Chittagong city and convenient communication, all helped in growing the huge of number of tourists flocking to Patenga.

Although, the Bay of Bengal borders the city throughout the west side, it’s the three-kilometre long beach of Patenga in the south-western portion of port city that attracts tourists most. Several thousand visitors come to the beach every day. On weekends, the number crosses one lakh. During festivals like Eid, Puja, Independence Day, Pahela Baishakh or Victory Day the beach area remains filled to the brim.

Apart from the attraction of watching the natural beauty of the sea and bathing in it, there are entertainment facilities like beach-bike, speed boat, horse-ride, kites and many more.

Though the beach is blessed with every possible means to develop it as a tourist attraction, the only thing missing is government plans and initiatives. There is no residential hotel in the beach area, no quality restaurants, banks and other infrastructural facilities for tourists. 

As a result, traders have occupied a huge portion of the beach area, established over 400 unplanned and illegal settlements. The settlements are destroying the beauty of the beach as well as shrinking the space for tourists.

Besides, the traders often charge exaggerated amounts of money by providing low quality food and service. If anyone protests the irrational price, local traders misbehave with them. Then there are more than one thousand hawkers and photographers, who irritate the tourists in the beach.

If the situation persists, Patenga beach may lose both its beauty and reputation gradually, fears tourists and locals. The government over the years has made plans to develop Patenga beach as a tourist spot but nothing has been implemented so far.