Arshinagar Future Park: A sheer amusement centre for tourists

Arshinagar Future Park, which started its journey as a typical amusement park on 12 acres of land in Mirsharai upazila of Chattogram over a decade ago, has now expanded in area to over 70 acres, offering a vast array of entertainment opportunities to nature-loving tourists.

Built bit by bit with a mixture of all amenities for vacationing, this park has now become one of the major attractions for local and foreign tourists in the country. 

Entering the park through its highly crafted gate, visitors will first be greeted by a portrait of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, followed by various rides, including a merry-go-round, a baby train, and other rides for children.

The park, located in Sonapahar village in Jorarganj Union of Mirsharai, has an entry fee of Tk100. 

There are about 50 different sculptures of animals and other figures, including a water sprite, peacock, elephant, and various birds all over the park. 

The park's unique architectural designs on flat as well as hilly terrain will fascinate children and adults alike. There are many amusing rides for grown-ups too, including paddle boats, speed boats, horses and giraffes. The park offers walking and resting zones and shopping corners for senior citizens. 

It has many cottages for tourists who come from long distances. It also has a convention centre and two-star quality multi-cuisine restaurants. There is a live kitchen where visitors will find all the eatables they are looking for. 

There are also artificial fountains, beautiful flower gardens and two artificial lakes in which tourists can fish with spears.

With 20 cottages and night camping amenities, the park has overnight accommodation facilities for 200 tourists at a time.

Nashir Uddin Didar, a cultural organiser, built this amusement park with his own investment and dedication. 

As an admirer of Lalon Shah, a Bengali spiritual leader and mystic poet, Didar named his daughter Moshrafa Mehreen Arshi (deriving the name Arshi from popular Lalon Geeti "Barir Pashe Arshi Nagar"). He named the park after his daughter. 

The open stage of this park has been named "Lalon Mancha", with various cultural programmes being held on this stage every week.

With a capacity of about 20,000 tourists, this park has a record of accommodating a maximum of 14,000 tourists in a day. It can host 20 picnic parties simultaneously. The convention hall with a capacity of 1,000 people is now home to various social events, including concerts. Besides, there are some small and big halls, named Independence 71, Bagan Bilash, Bangabandhu Stadium, Meghna Hall and Rupkatha.

On 4 April 1991, Didar decided to make a park here by planting a mango sapling. Since then, his dream has got increasingly bigger. Now there are hundreds of thousands of trees of 981 species, including fruit, forest, and medicinal, throughout the park. A variety of birds, among which are sparrows, weavers and tailorbirds roam freely in these trees. 

Keeping natural food and an open habitat in mind, pots have been hung on these trees for birds. During the winter, a fair of different species of birds is held throughout the park, which gives extra pleasure to bird lovers.

Around 300 people have been employed in the park, which is guarded by trained security personnel. There is no difficulty in communication as it is situated next to the Dhaka-Chattogram highway. It also has parking facilities for 300 cars.

Due to all such opportunities for tourism and social events, Arshinagar park is now regularly organising various social events, including corporate ones. It gets flooded with tourists on Fridays.

Priya Dey, a tourist, said, "The nature and shape of this park are constantly changing. Building such an entertainment centre in a rural area is quite an adventure. It has undoubtedly branded Mirsarai upazila."

"When I have spare time, I come to this park with my children and family members. Foreign tourists are also seen here," she added.

Nashir Uddin Didar, the founder of the park, said, "I travel to different countries of the world when I have time. It was through these journeys that I dreamt of building an international standard future park in my area."

"I have invested all my earnings here. The park was officially inaugurated on 14 April 2010. If a new idea comes up to beautify the park, we implement it. We give utmost importance to the safety and needs of tourists," he said, adding that this initiative is not for commercial purposes but for the development of the country's tourism sector.

Apart from various rides for tourists, there are several gaming zones, love points, and fishing zones for youngsters. The Orchid Stadium contains thousands of flower plants. There is also an open stage, food zone and watch tower for events. Tourists can enjoy the beauty of moonlit nights by sitting on the watchtower.