The authorities have reopened the Sundarbans for tourists, fishermen and wood collectors after a three-month closure.
The closure was enforced to ensure the safe breeding of wild animals.
On the first day of reopening, only 75 tourists were allowed to enter the world’s largest mangrove forest by a ship named ‘The Web’ around 12:00am, said Majharul Haque, the joint general secretary of Sundarbans Tour Operators.
Another ship with 40 tourists entered the Sundarbans on Thursday morning.
Six more ships with 250 visitors are set to enter the forest on Friday, said an official of the Forest Department.
Earlier, the Forest Department imposed a three-month ban on tourists from June 1 to August 31 in the Sundarbans, to coincide with the peak breeding season for most animals in the forest.
Visitors from home and abroad, fishermen, wood and honey collectors were banned to enter the forest during this ban period. Moreover, no boats and ships were allowed to move on the rivers.
Some wood collectors (Bawal) and honey collectors (Mowal) entered the Sundarbans on Thursday after taking a pass from the Forest Department.
Tour operators, launch and boat owners have taken adequate measures to attract more tourists, said Mazharul Haque.
HM Dulal, a tour operator of the Sundarbans, expected that a large number of tourists will visit Sundarbans due to a better communication system as people can easily travel to the forest by crossing the Padma Bridge.
