Tourism sector starts to recover in Sylhet

Tourist spots in Sylhet are bustling with tourists. After the coronavirus epidemic and intense flood situation, the concerned people were looking at the face of hope as the tourist spots were opened. But due to severe floods in Sylhet, the tourism sector of Sylhet is lagging again.

But since the beginning of this month, the number of tourists has increased in Sylhet. Bholaganj Sada Pathar is one of the tourist spots in Sylhet. Bholaganj is the country’s largest stone quarry area, surrounded by nature in Companyganj Upazila on the border of Sylhet district. The high mountains of India’s Meghalaya state stand as a natural wall on the border of Bholaganj. The stream of springs coming down from that hill, on the one hand the water supplier of the Dhalai river, on the other hand this water flow is the source of the shape of Bholaganj. The green hills, the clouds, and the white stones that come down with the rains have added to the beauty of Bholaganj. The place surrounded by stones at the source of the Dhalai River is known as Bholaganj zero point or Sada Pathor.

After the flood, Bholaganj Sada Pathar tourist center has again become tourist-friendly. Since the beginning of this month, tourists have been flocking to this tourist spot. Bholaganj Sada Pathar tourism businessmen of Sylhet are recovering from the flood damage.

Going to the Bholaganj Sada Pathar tourist center, it can be seen that thousands of tourists who are thirsty for travel from different parts of the country have come down to Sada Pathar. Local businessmen and tourism-related people are having a busy time. As a result, those who are involved in this sector are recovering from the flood damage.

Boats are often in crisis due to the influx of tourists. Tourists come by vehicle from Sylhet city and have to take one boat for every eight people from Bholaganj No. 10 boat Ghat to Sada Pathar tourist spot. Tourists are renting a boat by standing in line for 800 takas. Thousands of people are waiting for the boat in intense heat. Talking to tourists, some have been waiting for hours to get the boat.

It is known from talking to the people related to Sada Pathar tourism that tourists start pouring into Sada Pathar from the end of October. Already from this time of the year the traffic of tourists usually starts to increase. However, due to Corona and later floods, the number of tourists was less in Sada Pathar for several months.

Suman, who is in charge of the management of Sada Pathar Boat Wharf, said that usually, the traffic of tourist’s increases at the beginning of winter. But this time tourists are coming a little earlier. There were very few tourists in Bholaganj Sada Pathar due to corona and flood. Because of that, everyone involved in the business has suffered a lot. However, many tourists have been coming since the beginning of this month. More than 40,000 tourists arrived last Friday from morning to evening.

Apart from this, the demand for our boats has increased two-three times with the arrival of thousands of tourists at Sada Pathar every day. Our income has also increased several times. Our hundreds of boats are offering at least four to five trips per day. The best time is going now in two years.

Milan Ahmed, a university student who came from Dhaka, said, I have heard a lot about Bholaganj Sada Pathar. So I came looking for an opportunity. I can’t explain how good it feels to come there. There is no such beautiful place anywhere else in the country. It is very nice to come to Sada pathor but it is difficult to get a boat because of the many tourists.

Zaman, who earns his living by driving a boat at the Bholaganj Sada pathor tourist spot, said that his livelihood is by driving a Sadapathor boat. He said, “The flood has caused a lot of damage. Houses are also damaged. We were in a lot of trouble as tourists did not come during the floods. Thousands of tourists are coming to Sadapathar every day for several days. So our income has also increased. In this way, if tourists come, we can eat well with our family properly. I can cover flood damage.

The same is the case with other tourist spots in Sylhet. The number of tourists has started increasing in all the tourist spots including Jaflong, Bisthakandi, and Ratargul.