Dedicated beach carnival for persons with disabilities 24-25 Feb

The Bangladesh Tourism Board and Any Moment Tours and Travels are going to organise a dedicated beach carnival for persons with disabilities in Cox's Bazar on 24 and 25 February to promote inclusiveness in the tourism sector.

Titled "Mujib's Bangladesh Cox's Bazar Carnival", the event with the theme of "Tourism for All" will facilitate visits of the physically challenged to the world's longest sea beach and help them enjoy the natural serenity.

"There is no alternative to arrange necessary facilities for the entertainment of people with special needs. It is their right. With the beach carnival, we believe that we will be able to increase mass awareness in this regard," Rahnuma Salam Khan, deputy director of the board, said at a press conference at her office in the capital yesterday.

"We will demonstrate ways to help physically-challenged people get into seawater. We hope the beach management committee will go for the next steps for further inclusiveness," she added.

Zubaeer Mahboob, managing director of Any Moment Tours and Travels,  said, "As part of the preparations, we have taken initiatives to build toilets at the beach area. We think the arrangement will inspire authorities concerned [to think about further inclusiveness]."

Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Md Mahbub Ali is scheduled to inaugurate the event on 24 February. On the first day, visitors can take part in beach football, kite fest, lantern fest and folk music concert. The second-day events include a marathon, cycle rally, kite fest, cricket match, and music concert.

"We do not have specific data on how many persons with disabilities visit Cox's Bazar each year," Abu Tahir Muhammad Zaber, acting chief executive officer of the tourism board, said at the event.

Some 47.42 lakh people, 2.4% of the total population, of the country are physically or mentally challenged, according to the latest data of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, who need a care for recreation.

Apart from the dedicated carnival, the Cox's Bazar district administration and beach management committee every year organise a beach carnival, which is open to all.