Home ›› 30 Oct 2021 ›› Nation
Moulvibazar – known as the tea kingdom – is not only famous for its picturesque tea estates, but for natural attractions such as Madhabkunda waterfall, Lawachara National Park, Gagantila Hill, Khasi villages, Sitesh Babu’s Zoo, Madhabpur Lake, and the wetlands of Hakaluki Haor too.
Tourists from home and abroad flock to enjoy the scenery of these places, but due to a lack of ideal transportation services, they often face difficulties in enjoying the full beauty of Moulvibazar as they only get to see about half of the attractions.
Keeping that in mind, the Moulvibazar district administration launched a couple of bus services on October 14 this year to facilitate travel for domestic and foreign tourists, and encourage more people to visit this region.
Through these services, the district administration has introduced a safe, cost-friendly, and time-efficient facility for tourists to enjoy and roam around all these places for only Tk 350, said the DC office sources.
The administration has introduced two packages for the tourists. Under package one, tourists will be able to start their tour by visiting Sreemangal and its tea garden, Gagan Tilla, Madhabkunda, and it will end at Hakaluki Haor. Tickets for this tour are worth Tk 400, including lunch and Tk 300 without lunch.
Meanwhile, the second package will start from Barlekha. Tourists will visit Lawachara park, Madhabpur lake, Sitesh Babu’s Zoo, and Baikka Beel. The package costs Tk 450 including lunch and Tk 350 without lunch.
Tickets will be available at the Shyamoli bus counter, Habiganj Road in Sreemangal, Hanif counter in Moulvibazar, and Shyamoli bus counters in Barlekha, said Jubed Ali, supervisor of one of the tourist buses.
He added, “Though the service has just been launched, it is attracting a large crowd. We are only operating the buses on Fridays and Saturdays for now. However, if the crowd gets bigger, we will organise more trips after speaking to the authorities concerned.”
Barlekha, Kulaura, Kamalganj and Sreemangal upazilas are home to numerous tea gardens. So, the administration decided to introduce the tourist bus service in Moulvibazar to help arrange quick and easy visits at comparatively cheaper costs to local tourist centres, he further said.
Showing appreciation for the new facility, several tourists who took trips using the bus services told The Business Post that they are satisfied with the service and wish to visit the region again.
“It has made our tour so much easier and budget-friendly. We could also visit all of our desired tourist spots with much less hassle and in just one day,” said Mahmud, a tourist visiting Moulvibazar.
Deputy Commissioner of Moulvibazar Meer Nahid Ahsan said the initiative was taken to add a new feature to Moulvibazar. “The bus services will attract more local and foreign travelers to witness the beauty of this region. It will also mitigate the hassles the tourists have to face during their visit.”
“Tourists will also be informed about the rent rates and what food will be provided. In case of any emergency, two mobile numbers for communication will also be provided,” he added.
