Cox's Bazar sea-beach in Bangladesh

Cox's Bazar sea-beach in Bangladesh

Cox's Bazar (Bengali: কক্সবাজার, pronounced [kɔksbadʒaɾ]) is a city, a fishing port, tourism centre and district headquarters in Bangladesh. The beach in Cox's Bazar is an unbroken 120 km (75 mi) sandy sea beach with a gentle slope, making it the second longest sea beach in the world after Praia do Cassino, in Brazil.[2][3][4] It is located 150 km (93 mi) south of the industrial port of Chittagong. Cox's Bazar is also known by the name Panowa, whose literal translation means "yellow flower." Its other old name was "Palongkee".

The modern Cox's Bazar derives its name from Captain Hiram Cox (died 1799), an officer of the British East India Company. Cox was appointed Superintendent of Palongkee outpost after Warren Hastings became Governor of Bengal. He embarked upon the task of rehabilitating refugees in the area and made significant progress[clarification needed]. Captain Cox died in 1799 before he could finish his work. To commemorate his role in rehabilitation work, a market was established and named Cox's Bazar after him.

Today, Cox's Bazar is one of the most-visited tourist destinations in Bangladesh, although not a major international tourist destination. In 2013, the Bangladesh Government formed the Tourist Police unit to protect local and foreign tourists better, as well as to look after the nature and wildlife in the tourist spots of Cox's Bazar.[5]

Town

Cox's Bazar Town was constituted in 1869, eventually becoming a B-grade municipality in 1989. Located along the Bay of Bengal in South Eastern Bangladesh, Cox's Bazar Town is a health resort. But it is famous mostly for its long natural sandy beach. The municipality covers an area of 6.85 km2 (2.64 sq mi) with 27 mahallas and 9 wards and has a population of 51,918.[6] Cox's Bazar is connected by road and air with Chittagong.[7]

History

The greater Chittagong area, including Cox's Bazar, was under the rule of Arakan kings from the early 9th century until its conquest by the Mughals in 1666 AD.[8] When the Mughal Prince Shah Shuja was passing through the hilly terrain of the present-day Cox's Bazar on his way to Arakan, he was attracted to its scenic and captivating beauty. He commanded his forces to camp there. His retinue of one thousand palanquins stopped there for some time. A place named Dulahazara, meaning "one thousand palanquins," still exists in the area. After the Mughals, the place came under the control of the Tipras and the Arakanese, followed by the Portuguese and then the British.

The name Cox's Bazar originated from the name of a British East India Company officer, Captain Hiram Cox, who was appointed as the Superintendent of Palonki (today's Cox's Bazar) outpost. He succeeded Warren Hastings, who became the Governor of Bengal following the British East India Company Act in 1773. The Captain rehabilitated many refugees in the area, but died in 1799 before he could finish his work. To commemorate him, a market was established and named after him, called Cox's Bazar. Cox's Bazar then was first established in 1854 and became a municipality in 1869.[8]

After the Sepoy Mutiny (Indian Rebellion of 1857) in 1857, the British East India Company was highly criticised and questioned on humanitarian grounds, specially for its opium trade monopoly over the Indian Sub-Continent. However, after its dissolution on 1 January 1874, all of the company's assets including its Armed Forces were acquired by the British Crown. After this historic take over, Cox's Bazar was declared a district of the Bengal Province under the British Crown.

After the end of British rule in 1947, Cox's Bazar became part of East Pakistan. Captain Advocate Fazlul Karim, the first chairman (after independence from the British) of Cox's Bazar Municipality, established the Tamarisk Forest along the beach. He wanted to attract tourists as well as to protect the beach from tsunami. He donated much of his father-in-law's and his own lands as sites for constructing a Public Library and a Town Hall. He was inspired to build Cox's Bazar as a tourist spot after seeing beaches of Bombay and Karachi, and was a resort pioneer in developing Cox's Bazar as a destination. He founded a Maternity Hospital, the Stadium and the drainage system by procuring grants from the Ford Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation through correspondence. T. H. Matthews, the principal of the Dacca Engineering College (1949~1954), was a friend who had helped him in these fundraising efforts. Engineer Chandi Charan Das was the government civil engineer who had worked on all these projects. In 1959 the municipality was turned into a town committee.[8]

In 1961 the Geological Survey of Pakistan initiated investigation of radioactive minerals like monazite around the Cox's Bazar sea-beach area.[9]
Cox's Bazar Bus Terminal

In 1971, Cox's Bazar wharf was used as a naval port by the Pakistan Navy's gunboats. This and the nearby airstrip of the Pakistan Air Force were the scene of intense shelling by the Indian Navy during the Bangladesh Liberation War. During the war, Pakistani soldiers killed many people in the town, including eminent lawyer Jnanendralal Chowdhury. The killing of two freedom fighters named Farhad and Subhash at Badar Mokam area is also recorded in history.[6]

After the independence of Bangladesh, Cox's Bazar started to get administrative attention. In 1972 the town committee of Cox's Bazar was turned into a municipality. In 1975, The Government of Bangladesh established a pilot plant at Kalatali.[9] Later, in 1984 Cox's Bazar subdivision was promoted to a district, and five years later (in 1989) the Cox's Bazar municipality was elevated to B-grade.[8] In 1994 (jobs) the Marine Fisheries and Technology Station (MFTS) was established at Cox's Bazar. MFTS is a research station of Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute (BFRI) headquartered in Mymensingh. The station covers a land area of four hectares and contains five laboratories.[10] In April 2007 Bangladesh got connected to the submarine cable network as a member of the SEA-ME-WE-4 Consortium, as Cox's Bazar was selected as the landing station of the submarine cable.[11] In September 2012 the municipality was the site of the Cox's Bazar and Ramu riots, where local Muslims attacked the Buddhist community over an alleged Quran desecration posted to Facebook.[12]

Geography and climate
Panorama of Cox's Bazar in the early morning: clouds on a blue sky, still water and forest in the distance.

Cox's Bazar town with an area of 6.85 km2 (2.64 sq mi), is located at 21°35′0″N 92°01′0″E and bounded by Bakkhali River on the north and East, Bay of Bengal in the West, and Jhilwanj Union in the south.

The climate of Bangladesh is mostly determined by its location in the tropical monsoon region: high temperature, heavy rainfall, generally excessive humidity, and distinct seasonal variations.[13] The climate of Cox's bazar is mostly similar to the rest of the country. It is further characterised by the location in the coastal area. The annual average temperature in Cox's Bazar remains at about a maximum of 34.8 °C (94.6 °F) and a minimum of 16.1 °C (61.0 °F). The average amount of rainfall remains at 3,524 mm (138.7 in)

Tourist attractions near the town
Beach-side accessories for the tourists at Cox's Bazar
Parasailing
Jet ski
Limited facility to do boat roaring
Horse riding

The beach is the main attraction of the town. There is several 3 star and 5 star hotels provide exclusive beachside area with accessories for the tourist. Visitors in other hotels visit the Laboni beach which is the area of the beach closest to the town. Other than the beach there are several places of interest near the town which can easily be visited from town centre.

Himchari National Park : Himchari is located just south of the Cox's Bazar town. It consists of lush tropical rain forest, grasslands and trees, and features a number of waterfalls, the biggest of which cascades down toward the sandy, sun-drenched beach. The National Park was established in 1980 by the Government of Bangladesh as a conservation area for research, education and recreation. Once it was the stomping grounds of herds of Asian elephant. It is still home to a limited number of these mammals.[23]

Aggmeda Khyang: a large Buddhist monastery, and a place revered by around 400,000 Buddhist people of Cox's Bazar; and the Chittagong Hill Tracts. The main sanctuary is posted on a series of round timber columns. It has a prayer chamber and an assembly hall along with a repository of large and small bronze Buddha images and a number of old manuscripts.

Ramu: about 10 km (6 mi) from Cox's Bazar,[24] is a village with a sizeable Buddhist population. The village is famous for its handicrafts and homemade cigars. There are monasteries, khyangs and pagodas containing images of Buddha in bronze, gold and other metals with precious stones. One of the most interesting of these temples is on the bank of the Baghkhali river. It houses not only relics and Burmese handicrafts but also a large bronze statue of Buddha measuring thirteen feet high which rests on a six feet high pedestal. Weavers ply their trade in open workshops and craftsmen make handmade cigars in their pagoda like houses.

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park: Bangabandhu Sheikh MujibSafari Park is the first Safari Park in Bangladesh. The nature of the forest is tropical evergreen and rich with Garjan, Boilam, Telsur and Chapalish along with herbs, shrubs and creepers. Safari Park is a declared protected area where the animals are kept in fairly large area with natural environment and visitors can easily see the animal when ever they visit by bus, jeep or on foot. This park was established on the basis of South Asian model. This safari park is an extension of an animal sanctuary located along the Chittagong-Cox's Bazar road about 50 km (30 mi) from Cox's Bazar town. The sanctuary itself protects a large number of wild elephants which are native to the area. In the safari park there are domesticated elephants which are available for a ride. Other animal attractions include lions, Bengal tigers, Crocodiles, Bears, Chitals and lots of different types of birds and monkeys.which is wonder full project to attract the tourist.

Inani Beach Inani is a stony beach near Cox's Bazar.