Bangladesh Coast Guard has intensified its operations to ensure security and combat crimes in the country’s coastal areas, including the Sundarbans.
According to the Coast Guard, during the past year alone, 49 pirates were arrested in the Sundarbans, while 38 firearms and 448 rounds of ammunition were recovered, and 52 hostages—both men and women—were rescued.
Coast Guard Media Officer Lieutenant Commander Siam-ul-Haq on Thursday said that the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest, plays a crucial role in maintaining Bangladesh’s ecological balance, mitigating the adverse effects of climate change, supporting coastal livelihoods, and promoting tourism. The forest also serves as a natural shield against cyclones and tidal surges.
For years, several pirate gangs have been engaged in looting forest resources, abducting fishermen and forest-dependent communities, and carrying out other criminal activities in the Sundarbans, negatively affecting tourism, biodiversity, and local security. Since its inception, the Coast Guard has been conducting continuous anti-piracy operations.
Lieutenant Commander Abrar Hasan, Operations Officer of Coast Guard West Zone, said that they have been able to curb crimes carried out by several pirate gangs inactive, including Ashabur, Hannan, Anarul, Manju, and Ranga groups in the Sundarbans. Other gangs are also under increasing pressure due to arrests of their members and associates. The Coast Guard has further strengthened patrols and intelligence efforts to dismantle the remaining active gangs.
He emphasized that ensuring long-term security in the Sundarbans requires increasing Coast Guard manpower, establishing new strategically located stations, adding high-speed boats, expanding drone surveillance, and enhancing coordination with the Forest Department. Such measures would help protect forest resources and biodiversity, ensure the safety of coastal communities, and contribute to national security.
The Coast Guard reaffirmed its commitment to continuing regular and special operations in the future to maintain overall security in the Sundarbans, protect forest resources, ensure safe working conditions for fishermen and forest workers, and sustain a tourism-friendly environment.
