Tourist spot in Chakaria. Chakaria Upazila full of natural scenic view. There are many places on Chakaria sightseeing. Are discussed separately below:
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Safari Park
Source: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dhigi of Bir Kamal
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Safari Park
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Safari Park was developed on an undulating landscape of around 2,224 acres (9.00 km2) of area at Chakaria Upazila in Cox's Bazar District, Bangladesh, some 107 km away from the port city, Chittagong, with an objective to create facilities for eco-tourism, research work and entertainment as well as from conserving wild animals in a natural environment.
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Safari Park is home to at least 4,000 animals of 165 species. After the new government took over in January 2007, joint forces rescued many of these new residents of the park during their drives at houses and establishments owned by graft suspects.[1] Many individuals also donated some of the animals to the park during this period. The seized and donated animals recently sent to the park include 90 spotted deer, 42 barking deer, three sambar deer, one freshwater crocodile, one saltwater crocodile, nine black bears, fourpythons, 17 peacocks, 19 Turkish pheasants and two emus.[2]
Another source of animals is the Dhaka Zoo. The animal population in Dhaka zoo has increased over the years due to their breeding, and the Dhaka zoo donated a number of lions and tigers to the Dulahazara Safari Park.[1]
Visitor Attraction:
The park itself protects a large number of wild elephants which are native to the area. In the safari park there are domesticated elephants which are available for a ride. Other animal attractions include lions, Bengal tigers, crocodiles, bears, spotted deer and many types of birds and monkeys.
Since the park was opened to the public, it has been drawing a huge crowd all year round — 6,000 visitors daily during peak season (November to March) and 2,000 visitors daily during off season (April to October).
Chakaria Sundarban
Chakaria Sundarbans a deltaic mangrove forest of the matamuhuri River at Chakaria in Cox's Bazar district. The initial area of the Chakaria Sundarbans was about 18,200 ha. Subsequently, 7,490 ha of land was declared as Reserved Forest and the rest as Protected Forest. A selection system was followed to manage the forest. But it was modified from time to time in order to arrest the deteriorating condition of the forest. At one point restrictions were imposed on extraction of forest produce. But this could not counter the destruction of the forest. In fact, the forest has been almost completely denuded in recent years.
A survey conducted in 1994 showed the presence of a good number of species such as sundari (Heritiera fomes), Gewa (Excoecaria agallocha),keora (Sonneratia apetala), Hantal (Phoenix paludosa), etc. However, species like Passur (Xylocarpus mekongensis), Dhundul (X. granatum), Hawa (Rhizophora mollucensis), Golpata (Nypa fruticans), etc were found to have disappeared from the forest. All the trees near shrimp ponds had been cut. In the rest of the areas only a few trees were left standing.
The entire Chakaria Sundarbans is now a barren area; stumps of trees are found all over, and only about 200 healthy trees are left. A number of factors have led to the destruction of this forest. These are: (i) removal of forest produces for fuelwood; (ii) overgrazing of cattle; (iii) spread of human settlements; (iv) fishing; and (v) shrimp culture. Between 1977 and 1982, an area of about 3,000 ha was transferred for shrimp farming and human settlement. The government policy of allowing use of the reserved forest for shrimp farms and human settlement encouraged some people to make forest clearing indiscriminately. Nevertheless studies indicate that Chakaria Sundarbans can still be rehabilitated with mangroves if biotic interference is controlled. [Neaj Ahmad Siddiqui]
Source : Banglapedia
Dhigi of Bir Kamal
