Tea gardens ‘off-limits’ to tourists 
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Splash
    • Videos
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Sunday
July 03, 2022

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Splash
    • Videos
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
SUNDAY, JULY 03, 2022
Tea gardens ‘off-limits’ to tourists 

Bangladesh

Ripon Dey
08 February, 2020, 07:10 pm
Last modified: 08 February, 2020, 07:17 pm

Related News

  • 'Fortress Australia' to welcome tourists for first time under Covid
  • Tea labourer’s daily wage not even Tk167 in 167 years
  • Coronavirus brews trouble for tea
  • Coronavirus: Tea auctions are in the cart
  • 46% girls in Sylhet tea gardens victim to child marriage

Tea gardens ‘off-limits’ to tourists 

It will have a long term impact on tourism

Ripon Dey
08 February, 2020, 07:10 pm
Last modified: 08 February, 2020, 07:17 pm
The greenery and natural beauty of Moulvibazar tea gardens attract tourists of all ages from home and abroad, but restrictions on tourists’ entering the tea gardens and taking pictures are now feared to cause a drastic fall in numbers of tourists visiting the district. Photo: TBS
The greenery and natural beauty of Moulvibazar tea gardens attract tourists of all ages from home and abroad, but restrictions on tourists’ entering the tea gardens and taking pictures are now feared to cause a drastic fall in numbers of tourists visiting the district. Photo: TBS

When the government is planning to declare Moulvibazar a "tourism district" given its so many attractions, the entry of tea gardens has been made off-limits to visitors.

Even no-entry signboards have been hanged at some places.

Businessmen involved in the tourism industry say the number of tourists coming to the district will fall drastically if their entry is stopped in this way, resulting in financial losses for them.

Besides, it will have a long-term impact on tourism as every year thousands of tourists flock to various picturesque spots in Moulvibazar. A large number of them come to see the tea gardens only.

The district administration says they will resolve this issue after meeting with the tea garden owners.

The valleys in each upazila of the district are adorned with rows of tea gardens. The green beauty attracts tourists of all ages. Many foreign tourists also come to see the gardens. There are also beautiful artificial lakes inside the gardens.

But the tea garden authorities have been preventing tourists from entering the gardens and taking photographs, which is actually a hindrance to the development of the tourism industry in the district.

Lakes in the Patralekha tea garden in Komolganj upazila are crowded by migratory birds every year. Jumping of chirping birds in lake water is a sight no one wants to miss. And tourists are keen to experience this mesmerising beauty.

According to the Bangladesh Tea Board, 92 out of 166 tea gardens across the country are located in Moulvibazar.

Each garden has one to two lakes. Most of the lakes in the fold of the mountains are artificially created to facilitate irrigation.

But now the tourists complain they are not allowed to enter the tea gardens and take pictures. Sometimes they are humiliated by the guards at the gardens' entrance.

In the winter, beautiful red lotus floats in the Rehana tea garden lake in Kulaura upazila, adding nature's special touch amid the greenery of the garden.

Abdur Rob, a tourist, took his family to see the flowers. However, he was denied entry into the garden. "We went to the garden very early in the morning, but the tea garden authorities did not let us in," he said.

Most of the tourists, who come to Moulvibazar, also visit Sreemangal to see the lush tea gardens. The Bhurvuria Tea Estate is located next to the Bangladesh Tea Research Institute, one kilometre away from Sreemangal town. The authorities have put up "no-entry" signs to stop tourists from entering the garden and even taking photographs. 

Abu Siddique Mohammed Musa, president of the Sreemangal Tourism Services Association, said this situation is turning tourists away.

"Tourists come to see the tea gardens. If they return without being able to do so, the development of the tourism sector in the region will be affected."

He expects an effective action from the local administration to this end.

Tourism-based businessmen say they will be at a financial loss. 

SK Das Suman, director of the Greenleaf Guest House and Eco Tourism, said, "Tourists are being deprived of enjoying the nature due to the restriction by the tea garden authorities. Tourists are frustrated that they are not allowed to enter the gardens."

He thinks that such drastic measures will hurt the development of the tourism industry in Sreemangal and will have a long-term impact on the tourism sector in the area.

Shamsul Haque, director of Nisargo Eco Resort, said, "Tourists often tell us that they cannot enter the tea gardens. They return with a heavy heart. Foreign tourists have great interest in tea gardens and tea factories. We have talked to garden owners many times but nothing changed."

Regarding the allegations, GM Shibli, chairman of Bangladeshi Tea Council's Sylhet Circle, said, "Tea gardens make up an entire industry. Production will be hampered if the visitors are allowed to enter those."

"If a visitor rips leaves or stems of a tea tree, at the end of the day, it will cause us great harm. It is in the government policy that the tea gardens cannot be used for anything else, which means it cannot be used for tourism as well," he added.

In this regard, Deputy Commissioner of the district Nazia Shirin said, "I have heard about the restrictions on tourists in the tea gardens. We will talk to the garden owners and managers soon so that they allow tourists' access."

Top News

Tea gardens / tourists 

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Vehicles ply the Padma Bridge on Sunday marking the beginning of a new era for the country’s southern region. The bridge was inaugurated on 25 June amid much fanfare. PHOTO: MUMIT M
    No possibility of allowing motorcycles on Padma Bridge before Eid: Cabinet Secretary
  • VAT exemption for edible oil likely to get extension till Sept 
    VAT exemption for edible oil likely to get extension till Sept 
  • File Photo: Collected
    Female passengers endure untold sufferings at Kamalapur station

MOST VIEWED

  • Padma Bridge from satellite. Photo: Screengrab
    Padma Bridge from satellite 
  • Photo: TBS
    Motorcycles banned on Padma Bridge 
  • Photo: Collected
    2 motorcyclists killed in first accident on Padma Bridge
  • TikToker who removed nuts of Padma Bridge detained in Dhaka
    TikToker who removed nuts of Padma Bridge detained in Dhaka
  • Photo: TBS
    BRTC bus breaks two barriers of Padma Bridge toll plaza
  • Photo: Pixabay
    Law being amended to ban e-cigarettes

Related News

  • 'Fortress Australia' to welcome tourists for first time under Covid
  • Tea labourer’s daily wage not even Tk167 in 167 years
  • Coronavirus brews trouble for tea
  • Coronavirus: Tea auctions are in the cart
  • 46% girls in Sylhet tea gardens victim to child marriage

Features

A Glittery Eid

A Glittery Eid

2h | Mode
Rise’s target customers are people who crave to express themselves through what they wear, and their clothing line is not relegated to any age range.

Level up your Eid game with Rise

3h | Mode
Stefan Dercon, a Professor of Economics at the University of Oxford and former Chief Economist of the Department of International Development (DFID). Illustration: TBS

Renewing the ‘elite bargain’ for Bangladesh’s future growth

5h | Panorama
The eye-catching commuter: Suzuki Gixxer SF 155

The eye-catching commuter: Suzuki Gixxer SF 155

1d | Wheels

More Videos from TBS

Chirkutt performs on Fete de La Music Fest

Chirkutt performs on Fete de La Music Fest

4h | Videos
Madhuri Sanchita's seed ornaments exhibition

Madhuri Sanchita's seed ornaments exhibition

4h | Videos
Bangabandhu Tunnel to change lives of million

Bangabandhu Tunnel to change lives of million

16h | Videos
Sowari Ghat's fresh fish market

Sowari Ghat's fresh fish market

16h | Videos

Most Read

1
Padma Bridge from satellite. Photo: Screengrab
Bangladesh

Padma Bridge from satellite 

2
Meet the man behind 'Azke amar mon balo nei'
Splash

Meet the man behind 'Azke amar mon balo nei'

3
TBS Illustration
Education

Universities may launch online classes again after Eid

4
Photo: TBS
Bangladesh

Motorcycles banned on Padma Bridge 

5
Photo: Collected
Economy

Tech startup ShopUp bags $65m in Series B4 funding

6
World Bank to give Bangladesh $18b IDA loans in next five years
Economy

World Bank to give Bangladesh $18b IDA loans in next five years

EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2022
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab
BENEATH THE SURFACE
Launch operators on various river routes see a steep drop in passengers after the opening of the the Padma Bridge. Photo: TBS

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net