Shapla Beel yet to become tourist-friendly spot

A 3500 hectares wetland in Satla union under Uzirpur upazila and Bagdha union under Agailjhara upazila of Barishal district, popularly known as Shapla Beel, is burgeoning with countless bloomed pink water lilies this time of the year.

Thousands of tourists from different parts of the country and abroad flock to the area to get a glimpse of the spectacular water body, filled with pink water lilies over a vast water expanse.

The wetland is usually a vast plain land that remains under waist-deep water from March to November each year in the monsoon. Farmers cannot grow anything during this period on this land, apart from farming fish.

However, for the last eight years, the farmers --who used to sit idle beforehand-- took on different roles as boatmen, food traders etc. to cater to the needs of the visitors after Shapla Beel became a tourist attraction.

According to locals, despite not being a tourist-friendly destination, Shapla Beel is able to earn over a crore in a single month in the season.

The locals also said that the number of tourists this season is much less than last year and so as the number of lilies.

Although the former is largely because of the Covid-19 induced lockdown, the latter is due to the reckless indifference of the fishers in the area.

Locals alleged that few influential local fishers fish excessively and apply harmful pesticides on the waterbody, which is detrimental to lilies’

natural growth. Apart from that, climate change, excessive tourist boats on the waterbody and plucking of

flowers are also the reasons behind the lesser amount of flowers on the beel, locals say.

Journalist Azad Alauddin, who was visiting the Shapla Beel with

his friends, told the Business Post that he comes to see the spectacular beauty of the beel once a year with his family and friends.

“The area has not become tourists friendly yet. We face problems with transportation, and residing in

the area is still difficult. Proper hotels with bathroom facilities,

good quality restaurants can make the visit of the tourists easier,” he said.

“The number of lilies is largely less than last year. I think the government should take planned measures to preserve the natural reservoir and promote the tourism opportunities of the area centring the wetland,” journalist Azad added.

Abdul Khalek, chairman of Satla union, said: “Two types of lilies grow in the vast waterbody; pink and white. While the spectacular pink lilies are mostly popular among tourists, the white lilies are traditionally eaten as food with supreme nutritional value in the area.”

“While some of the locals are engaged in the emerging tourism

business in the area, some of the others are selling these white lilies to adjacent markets and delivering it to other districts, securing their economic benefit,” he added.

Pranati Biswas, upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) of Ujirpur, said the area became a popular tourist spot for the last five years; it was largely unknown before that time. However, the two years stretched Covid-19 induced lockdown have significantly lessened the number of tourists visiting the area.

He said that they are planning to transform the area to be a tourist destination with encouragement from the government.

Ranjit Dutta, an adviser to the Barisal District River, Canal, Waterbody Protection Council, said: “Some influential people in the area are farming carp fishes in the reservoir. Despite several warnings, they kept on using pesticides and farming these fish, which can be proved detrimental for the natural growth of the lilies.

Barisal Deputy Commissioner Jasim Uddin Haider told the Business Post that they submitted a plan to the Prime Minister’s Office to transform the Shapla Beel into a tourist destination. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it had been awaiting approval for the last two years.

He also said that a place adjacent to the water body has been identified to construct a housing system to ensure the tourists’ convenience. All necessary measures will be taken very soon to preserve the beauty of the scenic tourist centre, the deputy commissioner said.