Passenger, goods services to Saint Martin's resuming Thursday on limited scale

The transportation services in the Teknaf-St Martin route have been halted for the last seven days

Transportation of goods and passengers to St Martin’s island will resume on a limited scale through alternative routes from Thursday, Cox's Bazar district’s top administrator says.

Firing from the Myanmar border has halted passenger and cargo vessels, disrupting emergency travel and goods transportation from Cox's Bazar's Teknaf Upazila to the island for seven days.

This has caused a food crisis on the island, according to Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Shahin Imran.

As a result, an alternative route from Cox's Bazar's Nunier Chara jetty to St Martin’s via the Bay of Bengal will open from Thursday, the DC said.

The decision was made during an emergency meeting of the district administration around 7pm on Wednesday, according to him.

Simultaneously, passenger service will restart on a limited scale using the new channel through Shah Pari island in Teknaf under the protection of Border Guard Bangladesh and the Coast Guard, he added.

The suspension of services left more than 10,000 residents of the isolated island facing a shortage of daily necessities, including food.

The island is accessible only by water, with residents depending on boats that navigate the Teknaf-St Martin’s route to transport food products and other essential supplies.

Earlier on Jun 5, over 100 shots were fired at a boat returning from Saint Martin's in Cox's Bazar with election officials and equipment.

Then on Jun 8 afternoon, a cargo vessel from Teknaf to St Martin’s was shot at again in the Naikhongdia area of the Badar Mokam estuary of the Naf River.