Today, 200 local volunteers participated in the cleanliness drive in St. Martin island. Photo: PID

COX’S BAZAR, Feb, 12, 2025 (BSS) - Adviser to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Syeda Rizwana Hasan today called for taking collective efforts to preserve environment in St. Martin, a coral island in the Bay of Bengal.

She made the call during a cleanliness drive conducted by the local administration to protect environment and bio-diversity of the island.

“We all have the responsibility to preserve the environment and bio-diversity of St. Martin. The ministry of tourism and relevant agencies will collaborate to provide alternative employment initiatives for the island’s residents,”

The ongoing drive, involving 200 local volunteers, aims to reduce pollution and protect the island's biodiversity. The local administration is overseeing the drive, which will continue till tomorrow.

Additionally, the Sustainability Alliance has been conducting similar cleanliness drives for the past two months to this end. A total of 241 kg of plastic and 87 kg of polythene were removed from the shipping dock during the period.

Some 14.3 metric tons of plastic were also cleared from St. Martins, and 67.3 metric tons from Cox's Bazar through the Plastic Exchange Store.

As part of measures to curb environmental damage from uncontrolled tourism, the government imposed a tourist limit of 2,000 overnight visitors during December and January.

An average of 1,694 tourists visited the island daily during that period. Several ships were warned for exceeding passenger limits, and two ships were fined.

Md. Jamir Uddin, Deputy Director of the Department of Environment of Cox's Bazar District, mentioned that informative signboards and graffiti have been installed on the island to raise awareness.

The Beach Management Committee has also deployed 10 cleaners and six lifeguards for the safety and cleanliness of the beach.