Mystery behind Bandarban travel bans: Who’s pulling the strings?

City Desk:

The picturesque district of Bandarban, where clouds, hills, rivers and waterfalls meet, has long been a popular destination for tourists from across Bangladesh.

But a growing security concern stemming from the emergence of a new armed group, the Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF), has led to repeated travel bans over recent years, severely impacting the local tourism industry, reported UNB

Bandarban, one of the three hill districts in the country, is bordered by Cox’s Bazar to the southwest, Chattogram to the northwest, Rangamati to the north and Myanmar to the east.
A Timeline of Restrictions

Just as the district was recovering from the economic blows of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-21, KNF’s increasing activity prompted the local administration to impose an indefinite travel ban on Ruma and Rowangchhari upazilas from October 18, 2022.

Later, Thanchi and Alikadam upazilas also faced similar restrictions.

The administration then alternated between lifting and reimposing bans across different upazilas, with extensions issued several times.

On February 20, 2023, travel restrictions in Ruma, Rowangchhari and Thanchi were briefly lifted, only to be reinstated on March 16 of the same year.

A fresh ban on travel to Bandarban was imposed on 8 October 2024.

Although the restriction was lifted in four of the district’s seven upazilas on 6 November, Ruma, Rowangchhari and Thanchi remained off-limits.

As of February 11 this year, the ban on Devtakhum in Rowangchhari has been lifted, allowing tourist access. From June 6, limited travel has been permitted up to Boga Lake in Ruma, and to Tumatungi and Thanchi’s Tindu.

But, travel outside these specified areas remains prohibited.