Tawhidul Islam, Cox's Bazar 

Due to adverse weather, water transport on the Saint Martin route remains suspended. As a result, the island is facing a shortage of daily essentials, and prices have increased.

The last shipment of goods to Saint Martin took place on May 25. That afternoon, due to rough weather, the Upazila administration imposed a ban on water transport to the island. On Sunday afternoon, on the seventh day, three trawlers carrying goods and passengers attempted to make the journey from Teknaf to Saint Martin, but they failed to cross the rough sea and eventually returned to Shah Porir Dwip by evening.

Located in the Bay of Bengal, the eight-square-kilometer island of Saint Martin is home to around 11,000 residents. Most daily essentials are supplied to the island’s local markets from Teknaf. Since the ban imposed on May 25, no vessels had reached the island until Sunday.

Mohammad Sayed Alam, a member of Ward 6 of the Saint Martin Union Parishad, said that most shops on the island are experiencing shortages of daily necessities. While a few stores still have rice, flour, cooking oil, and gas cylinders in stock, these are being sold at inflated prices. He said, “In several shops on the north side of the market, eggs were sold on Friday at Tk 18–20 each, while the same eggs cost only Tk 10 in Teknaf. A kilogram of potatoes is being sold for Tk 50 here, compared to Tk 30 in Teknaf. The prices of all vegetables range between Tk 100 to 120 per kilogram. Until Friday, the supply of groceries and vegetables was somewhat stable, but today many necessary items are unavailable in the market.”

Mohammad Ismail, a grocery shop owner on the island, said that the suspension of water transport has led to a shortage of all types of goods in his store, with rice being the only item still in sufficient stock. Another shop owner, Md. Hossain, said, “Ahead of Eid-ul-Adha, I had stocked several hundred thousand taka worth of soybean oil, onions, garlic, ginger, eggs, and rice. Most of that has now been sold. If transport doesn't resume soon, people on the island will face starvation.”

Fayezul Islam, acting chairman of Saint Martin Union Parishad, also acknowledged the food shortage. He said that the Bangladesh Navy, Coast Guard, and Upazila administration are preparing to provide some emergency food aid.

Abdur Rashid, President of the Service Trawler Owners’ Association of the Teknaf-Saint Martin waterway, said that 30 trawlers usually transport passengers and goods on this route. However, all operations are currently suspended due to rough weather. On Sunday afternoon, three trawlers attempted the journey with goods and passengers but had to turn back due to the turbulent sea and docked at Shah Porir Dwip in the evening.

Habibullah Khan, former UP member and general secretary of the market committee in Saint Martin, said that with no tourists on the island, residents are already in hardship. Now, the adverse weather, combined with the shortage and high prices of essentials, has worsened the crisis. Many islanders are spending most of their time indoors.

Mohammad Shafiul Habib Bhuiyan, an official from the Teknaf Upazila food warehouse, said that food aid including VGD and VGF rice allocations for Saint Martin arrived 15 days ago. 

Teknaf Upazila UNO Sheikh Ehsan Uddin said that the water transport was suspended to prevent any kind of accidents or loss of life.