There is a danger that a large part of the island will disappear into the sea due to the lack of a protective wall of mangroves in Kutubdia, an island upazila of Cox's Bazar district. This island had at least 1,200 acres of mangroves a few decades ago. At that time, the mangroves were built as a protective wall for this 100 square kilometer island. But in the last three decades, the protective wall of the island has been destroyed.
Due to the destruction of the paraban, thousands of people's homes and land have disappeared into the sea. About 900 acres of paraban have been destroyed to create salt fields. The remaining 300 acres of paraban are also under threat due to aggressive salt cultivation. Apart from this, there is no sustainable embankment on this island. Therefore, erosion occurs in most of the coastal areas of Kutubdia every year due to strong storms, floods and inundation during the rainy season.
A decade ago, the area of Kutubdia Island was more than 20 square kilometers. Now, due to erosion, the area of Kutubdia Island has reduced to less than 18 square kilometers.
Therefore, it is requested to the concerned department under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to take the initiative to plant paraban (mangrove) as a protective wall of the island as soon as possible to protect Kutubdia Island. Along with this, appropriate steps should be taken to preserve the paraban. If Kutubdia Island can be saved, the lives of more than 150,000 residents will be saved.