Bhutiar Bil, which stretches across Terokhada upazila of Khulna and part of Narail, is now full of red, pink and white lotuses and water lilies. Visitors arrive from dawn and take small dinghies through the reed beds and water hyacinth to see the flowers.
Locals say visitor numbers rise in the lotus season, and for some years unemployed young men have been ferrying tourists around the wetland, creating seasonal work. A small boat usually costs Tk 200 to 500. Terokhada bazar is about 18 kilometres from Khulna city across the Jailkhana ghat, and the lotus wetland at Charkushla village is about an hour and a half on by easy-bike.
Behind the beauty lies a long-running hardship. Citing local sources, the report says about 20,000 acres have been permanently waterlogged since 2003, damaging farming and livelihoods; many families have moved to towns and many who remain now depend on fishing.
The wetland is home to native fish including koi, shing, magur, shol, gajar, royna, khalisha and puti, which are caught with nets and traps when the water falls in winter.
Visitors Tamim Hasan, Priya Rahman and Mujahidul Islam said getting close to the lotuses by boat was wonderful, but some visitors pick the flowers and spoil the scene. Locals hope planned tourism facilities that protect the wetland's aquatic life, with safe boats and cleanliness, could make it one of the south's leading attractions.
The report is by Risingbd, published by Agricare24.
Photo: Koushik Roy / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Source: Agricare24
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