Tourist crowds during Durga Puja holidays cause traffic congestion
Photo: Agamir Somoy
Tourist crowds have increased at tourist destinations in Sreemangal, Moulvibazar, during the extended holidays combining Sharadiya Durga Puja and the weekly weekend. Tourists are arriving from different parts of the country to enjoy the beauty of tea gardens, haors and nature. Their arrival has brought renewed activity to local tourism businesses. However, traffic pressure has increased on roads in and around the town. Tourists are facing difficulties due to traffic congestion in some areas.
A visit to the area found increased tourist attendance at various attractions, including Baikka Beel, the Cha Kanya sculpture, Massacre Site 71, Nilkantha Tea Cabin, tea gardens, Champa Lake, the zoo and the Bangladesh Tea Research Institute. People involved in the tourism sector said that most rooms at hotels and resorts in the upazila had been booked in advance during this period.
Nusrat Faria Liza came to Sreemangal with her family from Natore. She said, “I really enjoyed seeing greenery all around when I visited Sreemangal with my family for the first time. Visiting this place makes me want to return again and again. We have spent three days here visiting different places. We had a wonderful time. We will return home tonight.”
Biplab Banik, who came from Dhaka with his family, said, “When you visit Sreemangal, you get the opportunity to see tea gardens, forests, haors and waterfalls all at once. However, road connectivity to tourist destinations needs to be improved further. Alongside traffic congestion, there are also questions about the quality of food at hotels. To develop Sreemangal further as a tourist city, quality food must be ensured and discipline must be restored on the roads.”
SK Das Sumon, general secretary of the Sreemangal Tourism Services Association and director of Green Leaf Resort in the town, said around 90 to 95 percent of the rooms at quality hotels, motels, resorts and guesthouses in Sreemangal had been booked in advance. He said fire safety measures and backup power arrangements had been made to ensure tourists' safety and comfort.
Mohammad Kamrul Hossain Chowdhury, officer-in-charge (OC) of the Tourist Police for the Sreemangal and Kamalganj zones, said tourist destinations were crowded. He said members of the Tourist Police, along with local police and the district intelligence unit, were working to ensure tourists' safety. No untoward incidents had been reported so far.
Besides Sreemangal, tourist crowds have also increased at Lawachara National Park, Madhabpur Lake and Ham Ham Waterfall in Kamalganj. However, the growing number of visitors to Lawachara has raised concerns about the forest environment and the natural movement of wildlife.
Mohammad Kazi Nazmul Haque, range officer of the Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation Department, said the increasing number of tourists at Lawachara was damaging the forest's internal environment. He said instructions had been issued several times to regulate movement on the roads and railway tracks running through the forest, but they were not being properly followed.
