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The routes less travelled in Bangladesh
HAROLD STEPHENS

THE exciting thing about Bangladesh, someone recently told me, is when you
get off the beaten track. I found this amusing. Isn't Bangladesh itself off
the beaten track? The person who told me didn't think it was amusing. He was
from Bangladesh.

However, I have to agree with him. When you get away from the big cities,
Bangladesh can be one of the most interesting destinations in Southeast
Asia. Unfortunately, it isn't a country most travel offices would recommend;
in fact, some travelbooks don't even mention it, or if they do, they just
gloss over it.

And with Bangladesh making news recently when floods inundated two-thirds of
the country and left millions homeless, there seems to be more cause to stay
away. Hearing such reports, one would hardly consider it as a tourist
destination, a place that one goes to find enjoyment. But Bangladesh, for
the traveller looking for something different, does have something to offer.

Study a map of Bangladesh and you will begin to understand the country. Upon
this vast delta where the Ganges and Brahmaputra overflow once a year, some
125 million people live. Next to Java in Indonesia, it is the most densely
populated area in the world (not counting city-states like Singapore), with
1,566 people per square mile. (Any figure over 1,000 is considered to be
over-populated.) And yet there are dense jungles, home of the Royal Bengal
tiger; an empty, white sandy beach that stretches 75 miles; remote hill
tribes who live in seclusion in the mountains above Chittagong; and an area
called the Sunderbans which you can explore by small boat and not see
another soul in days.

I first saw Bangladesh when it was still called East Pakistan, and Dhaka,
the capital, was spelled Dacca. I came overland by jeep from Calcutta, when
the rivers were high, and it took four days to travel 250 miles. It seemed
we spent more time on ferries than actually driving on roads.
But what a novelty it was to drive aboard a ferry and travel long distances
by river. Some rivers were so unbelieveably wide they looked more like lakes
and inland seas. We could hardly see the other side.
The first ferry we took was little more than a raft-like boat, not much
larger than our jeep. It appeared safe--until a hundred or more passengers
swarmed aboard, almost swamping us. Nevertheless, with jeep and an army of
passengers, and only inches above water, it carried us safely across the
Bhirab River east of Jessore.
After landing on the other side and then driving no more than an hour, we
reached the next landing at Goalundo Ghat, only to discover we had to wait
until the following morning for the ferry. We quickly learned that patience
is a virtue when travelling in Bangladesh. And if you don't mind putting up
in old fashioned resthouses, some that still have puka fans suspended from
the ceilings, accommodations are no problem.
Resthouses are comfortable, and for those who are driving they offer
security. Often called Dak Bungalows, they are inside enclosed compounds,
like fortresses, in which the gates are closed during the night.
The ferry the next morning left at 6 a.m. It was a five-hour journey. I felt
that we were sailing on the Nile 2,000 years ago. Hundreds of black-hulled
ships, their triangular sails filled with wind, made a striking sight on the
river. I watched one convoy of double masted sailing vessels cross our bow.
Their gunwales were high off the water, and their bowsprits turned upwards
like huge ramrods. These looked like18th century pirate boats, with
billowing square sails and seamen guarding the foredecks.
Farther down river there were smaller, red-sailed boats. Silhouetted against
the glare of the morning sun, near-naked seamen with outstretched arms stood
along the decks, tending the sails and tiller. I have never seen so many
different types of sailing craft anywhere else in the world as I have in
Bangladesh.
Where there aren't rivers, a network of canals serve as water roads for the
smallest sailing boats. When the wind fails, a score of men leap off and
walk along the sides of the canals, pulling the boats by long lines fastened
to their bows. And every so often, usually where two canals converge, there
will be gigantic fishing nets worked by half a dozen near-naked men.
One is hardly ever out of sight of a village. With a population well over
100 million, 91 per cent of the people live in villages and there are more
than 68,000 villages scattered around the country. Jute is their major crop.
Monsoon rains in Bangladesh are both a blessing and a curse. Rainfall in the
delta reaches 226 inches a year. (Both Paris and New York, which are
considered rainy, have an average of 45 inches a year.) In an average year,
the floods inundate 28,000 square kilometres of the country, bringing rich
layers of silt that make land fertile. In a bad year monsoons can play havoc
and cause untold destruction. Yet without the monsoon rains, there could be
no crops.
The country has 6,000 miles of roads, but during the monsoon, ferry boats
and river steamers are the main means of transportation.
The Bangladeshis are a curious people. They live without privacy. You can be
on a seemingly empty road, without a soul in sight, stop your car to relieve
yourself, and a hundred people will suddenly appear out of nowhere. A
Baptist missionary I met on a ferry, who had spent 20 years in the country,
told me that the people loved books, especially if they had pictures and
photographs in them. "Give them a Sears catalog and it replaces the Bible,"
he said. "They cut out the pictures and paste them on their walls. The women
copy the dresses; the men make furniture from the pictures - toys, tables,
chairs, everything."
Dhaka is not an impressive town, and there is little to see and do, but its
importance cannot be underestimated. Established in 1608 as the seat of the
Imperial Mongul Viceroys, it is the Far Eastern centre for the teaching of
Islam.
Ten miles south of Dhaka is Narayanjanj, the largest inland river port in
Bangladesh. Its colourful harbour swarms with thousands of small boats
bringing jute to the mills, the largest in the world.
Throughout the country when jute is being harvested, the 6,000 miles of
roads become drying beds for jute, making driving difficult as motorists
literally drive over the jute, thus helping break down the fibers.
Chittagong, to the south on the Bay of Bengal, has more to offer. It's the
country's major port and second largest city. From Chittagong one can
venture northeast to the famous Chittagong Hill Tracks. Two main tourist
centres are located on the shores of a 256 square mile lake. Nearby the
Murong and the Mogh people are specially worth visiting.
Ninety-four miles south of Chittagong along the coast is Cox's Bazar. 75
miles long, it's the longest stretch of unbroken beach in the world. There
are resort accommodations and resthouses for the budget minded.
Then, for the true adventurer, there are the Sunderbans, tropical jungles
and marshes that lie deep in the delta areas of the Ganges and Brahmaputra
rivers. They were once the hunting grounds for the Royal Bengal tiger.
Today you can see wild pigs, abundant bird life and deer, as well as the
occasional tiger. Travel to the Sunderbans is by boat through a myriad of
backwaters. Boats are available for hire by the hour or by the day. Guides
are also available.
Khulna is the principal town of the region and can be reached by the famous
Rocket Steamer from Dhaka. Or one can travel by air to Jessore and go
overland from there. There are a number of rest houses in Khulna. Modern
excursion lodges in the jungles are also available.
The real thrill of touring Bangladesh is to travel by ferries and old
fashioned steamers. Boats of all kinds operate throughout the country and
often local inquiries are necessary for both schedules and prices. The
Rocket Steamer between Dhaka and Khulna in the Sunderbans takes 19 hours.
Service is good; the food is excellent. Service is every other day, but
advance reservations are needed for first class.n

torpedo

http://www.thedailystar.net/2005/04/12/d50412070476.htm

Diarrhoea kills 2, attacks 250 in Jhenidah
Our Correspondent, Magura

Diarrhoea killeds two people and affected over 250 in the sadar and
Shailkupa upazilas of Jhenidah district in last three days, official sources
said.

The dead are Sumi, 4, of Shatbaria village in Jhenidah Sadar upazila and
Saki, 5, of Abaipur village in Shailkupa upazila. Sumi died at Jhenidah
Sadar Hospital on Friday and Saki at Shailkupa upazila health complex in the
early hours of yesterday.

Diarrhoea patients are rushing to Jhenidah Sadar Hospital and Shailakupa
upazila health complex from different villages, officials and local people
said.

A total of 230 patients came to Sadar hospital and 15 to Shailkupa health
complex in last three days.

A doctor at the Sadar hospital seeking anonymity said the diarrhoea
situation deteriorated abruptly in the last three days.

Jhenidah Civil Surgeon Golam Hossain, when contacted over phone, however
claimed that the situation was under control. "Hot spell has spread the
disease".

Child specialist Alok Kumar Saha at the Sadar hospital suggested people to
avoid of taking stale food.


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