Sabbir Alam Babu, Bhola

Conch shells and clouds touching the wings of Balakas running from horizon to horizon and touching the infinite water of Meghna and the sand particles on the river bank will make anyone's mind rush to Prashanthi Park located on the banks of the Meghna and Mini Khejurgachiar in Bhola.

The fishing trawlers of the sailors and the boats with colorful cloths are running as if the lost birds are looking for their home. As soon as you look at the sky, the blue sky with the wings of hundreds of butterflies will touch your lost mind.

At least for a while, you will be forced to sing in tune by the river "Today my heart wants me to get lost, I will get lost with you, to put on the rakhi of that promise, keep it in your hands for some time". Be it holding hands or the inseparable friendship of sand and water, Khejurgachi's Mini Cox's Bazar beach is crowded with tourists coming from different districts of the country to find some tranquility with their friends around various festivals including Eid Puja.

Two kilometers away from Hazariganj Union of Charfashan Upazila of Bhola district, this palm tree has a long beach and riverside, surrounded by green keora and mangrove forests with various types of plants including Palash and Krishnachura flowers. In addition, the colorful boats running in the sea and the trawlers casting nets have created a natural environment that is as charming as the artist's watercolors.

On the other hand, Prashanthi Park, built on the banks of the Meghna in Betua, along with the resting benches and roundhouses, holding the railings on the banks of the river, sipping tea or coffee, no one will mind seeing the picture of hundreds of chilly fish hunting in the gentle waves of the water. Besides, hundreds of tourists are visiting the slopes of Beri Dam constructed under the implementation of Bhola Water Development Board-II in Betua. Prashanthi Park has a diverse marine environment with golpatar forest and various types of pak-pakhali.

Also, Kukri-Mukri Sea Beach and Tarua Beach, one of the most popular tourist spots in the country, have emerged at the edge of the Bay of Bengal, 50 km away from Charfashan. Tourists are coming directly from Dhaka river port to Charfashan to Betuar launch in Charfashan. Tourists visit Kukri and Tarua beaches after visiting colorful fountains fashion square and Sheikh Russell Children's entertainment park in Upazila Sadar and visiting Jacob Tower with 16 floors at a height of 225 feet.

The keora and mangrove forests of Kukri-Mukri are home to 272 species of plants, 45 species of animals including chitra deer, monkeys and wild buffaloes and about 209 species of birds. There is a scenic view on the banks of the canal like the Sundarbans flowing through the heartless forest here.

In this paradise of nature, known as the Maldives of Bangladesh, there are resting benches, hanging bridges, jeep trucking, makarsha nets, Chinese restaurants and home stay services for tourists.

On the other hand, Tarua Sea, known as the only virgin island sea beach in Bangladesh, has the beauty of red crabs and salt water waves of the sea and the soothing vegetation along with the enchanting migration of guest birds that span the horizon.

Thousands and thousands of tourists come to these fashionable entertainment spots every day, but tourists are not allowed to come due to the lockdownLocal tourists say that if the coastal areas of Charfashan have immense potential, if sufficient opportunities for recreation and tourist attraction are adopted through infrastructural development, then crores of government will also be spent from the tourist area of Betua Prashanthi Park including Kukri-Mukri and Tarua beach and KhejurgachiaMoney revenue will increase.

Abdullah Al Islam Jacob, President of the Standing Committee of the Local MP Youth and Sports Ministry, is doing developmental work to bring the coastal region to the threshold of potential tourism in order to develop the coastal region into entertainment infrastructure. In the meantime, he has built numerous recreational facilities along with institutional development in Charfashan and Manpura areas.

Also, Kukri-Mukri and Tarua beaches are being brought under eco-tourism. By adopting development projects in coastal protection, sustainable embankment construction and colorful tourism management, southern townships will become a new horizon of tourism. This is what the tourism analysts of the upazila think.