Bhawal National Park: A heartwarming Shalban

Bhawal National Park is one of the 17 national parks in Bangladesh. Although it started its activities in 1974, it was declared a national park on 11 May 1982. This impeccably beautiful garden is basically a tropical moist deciduous forest. Shawl or gazari is the main tree of this garden. Hundreds of thousands of tourists come here every year to experience the beauty of the shale forest and the taste of the jungle. This garden is unique for its beauty, uniqueness and diversity.

Location of Bhawal National Park

Bhawal National Park is located in Sadar and Sreepur upazilas of Gazipur district next to Dhaka. Its distance from Dhaka is only forty kilometers. In the whole plan, although the national park covers an area of 5022 hectares in 35 mouzas and 136 villages of Gazipur Sadar and Sreepur upazilas, the main park is mainly located on 940 hectares of land along the Dhaka-Mymensingh road.

It takes about two hours to reach this park from Dhaka, 13 km away from Gazipur Sadar. You can come here by any bus going to Mymensingh. You only have to pay 10 rupees to enter the park. However, if you enter with a car, you have to pay a separate rate for it.

Unique in appearance and variety

Part of Bhawal Garh Bhawal National Park is a natural forest. The park is unique in its appearance, diversity and multidimensional natural features. This forest of deciduous trees changes its appearance from time to time. As soon as you visit this park covered with the illusion of willow trees, you will see dense forests, bushes and jungles. In winter, although the leaves fall and bring a sense of emptiness in the form of the forest, but in other seasons the eye-catching beauty of dark green will catch the eye. There are planned roads and hiking trails for walking inside the park. Location of spiral crop land across the garden. The taste of solitude can be enjoyed by walking through the middle of the deep forest.

A few miles wide giant lakes, one of which is Padmapukur, add to the charm of the park. The breathtaking beauty of the lotus flower in this lake is heartwarming. At the same time, the combination of dark green water of the forest has made the beauty of this garden unique. You can enjoy boat trips on the lakes, and fishing with a fishing rod if you wish, although you will have to pay a certain amount for that.

The color of the soil here is gray, which is called red soil. In the dry state, the soil is hard like brick, but it leans in contact with water. The color of the soil is gray but there is a scientific explanation. The acidity of the soil in this area is very high, about 5.5 pH. The most important thing that happens in this forest as it is a deciduous forest is that the fallen leaves fall to the ground to create humus and increase the fertility of the soil, so it is easy to grow a variety of trees and herbs here.

Plant and animal diversity

Once upon a time in Bhawal forest there was free movement of tigers, cheetahs, black leopards, elephants, fish tigers, peacocks and many other wild animals. In the evolution of time, the existence of these animals has disappeared. The existence of deep forest has also disappeared. However, there are still a few deer, monkeys, wild boars, rabbits, wild cats, squirrels and about 132 species of wild animals can be seen in this forest. There are 18 species of mammals, 19 species of reptiles, 84 species of birds and 11 species of amphibians.

Among the birds identified in the park are Hirgal, Lalchil, Buck, Doyle, Hottiti, Maasranga, Kura Eagle, Hari Chacha, Bene Bau, Bulbul, Nilkantha, Kak, Shalik, Charui, Owl, Tia, Moutussi, Pankauri, Mohanchura. While walking in the secluded forest, one can get a taste of unearthly feelings by the chirping of various birds.

Although the main tree of the park is shawl, 356 species of plants belonging to 52 families and 147 genera have been identified here. Among them Jiga, Arjun, Alai, Mahogany, Akashmani, Kadai, Kathal, Amalki, Haritaki, Bahera etc. can be noticed in large quantities. The present willow trees have not been planted. These are naturally derived from the kapich of the eastern trees. Currently, the Asian Development Bank or ADB is behind the failure to plant new willow trees. They consider shawls or carrots to be less productive and have been financing the planting of eucalyptus and other such fast-growing trees here.

In the evolution of time, due to various adversities and carelessness, the variety and color of the national park is gradually fading. However, the forest department has been making various efforts to bring back the lost heritage in recent times. According to the information published in the newspaper, besides rescuing the evicted lands of the park, various wild animals are being released at different times and efforts are being made to maintain the forest environment by planting endangered plants of different species including bot, tamal and agar in different places of the park. But the fact that it is very little compared to the necessity can be felt by visiting this park.

Tourist facilities

Various initiatives have been taken at different times to attract tourists to Bhawal National Park. Inside the park are several cottages and restrooms. The names of the cottages are also external. Such as- Sranti, Shapla, Jasmine, Champa, Madhabi, Jui, Chameli etc. There are more than thirty picnic spots. According to the forest department, about three and a half lakh tourists visit the park every year.

There are various tariffs for renting picnic spots for picnics. There are also different types of tariffs for renting cottages. The thing to keep in mind, however, is that you are not allowed to spend the night here. However, within a short distance of the park, there are several well-owned privately owned hotels or resorts. There are also numerous standard hotels.

And in case of booking any cottage or picnic spot, one has to book in advance from the Mohakhali office of the forest department. However, bookings can also be taken from the Rajendrapur Range Office, a national park located a short distance from the park, by depositing the prescribed fee.

In addition to the natural beauty, a mini zoo, a high-rise inspection tower, a butterfly garden, a turtle breeding center and a children's park have been set up inside the park. But not to forget the nasty aspects of beauty. The park authorities themselves discourage people from going into the deep jungle for various criminal activities. So you need to be careful when going around.

In the mechanical life of vacation or urban hustle and bustle, you can spend two peaceful moments in Bhawal National Park. You can get lost in the monolova melody of the birds, or in the enchanting beauty of the heart-wrenching Shalban.

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