Masud Rana Joy, Khagrachari

Bells hang from the branches of the trees on the top of the green hill. Hills drunk with the aroma of ripe vines.

In hilly district Khagrachari, the bel trees on the bends of Matiranga hills are playing a very important role in earning the livelihood of the hill-Bengalis living in this area besides spreading the unique beauty of the hills.

It is called 'Wood Apple' in English because the peel of the bell is as hard as wood. And seeing the great value of the fruit in Bengal, the British named it 'Bengal Quince'. Bell tree is a large tree with a height of about 10-16 meters.

All the leaves of this tree fall in winter, and new leaves come in spring. Leaves trifoliate, green, ovate, tip of leaflets pointed. Flowers are light green to white in color. Bel is not only a delicious fruit but also has many medicinal properties. Sand is rich in protein, carotene, vitamin B complex, calcium and iron. Ripe fruit relieves constipation and unripe fruit is beneficial in cholera and dysentery. Kabiraji medicine is prepared from beel leaves and bark.

Most of the bales produced in Matiranga are in various hilly villages. Bell trees across the courtyard of Krishna Kumar Tripura's house in Bangmara, a remote hilly village of Matiranga. Where hanging green and light yellow bells. Currently, there are more than 20 bel trees in the yard of his house.

Bells are raised every Hatbar day in various places including Bailyachari, Muslim Para, Tabalchari, Taindang in Matiranga. At the end of winter, summer has started to arrive. There is no match for bell syrup to quench thirst in this summer. That's why the demand for bells is increasing with the increase of heat.

These mountain bales are going to different districts of the plains including Dhaka Chittagong by the hands of several wholesalers. By selling these bells, the people living in the mountains have been supporting their children's education as well as their livelihood.

Matiranga Hut day on Saturday is seen in Bazar Gur, farmers bring bags of bales to the market for sale, each bag contains about 170/200 bales. About 150 to 200 sacks of bales are sold in each market. Each bale is sold from Tk 13 to Tk 16 depending on the size.

Kamrul Mia, a bale trader from Chittagong, said that he has been trading bales in Matiranga for more than two decades. I buy 100 bales from farmers for 1300 to 1500 taka. We sell with bales in Dhaka, Comilla, Sylhet, Rajshahi, Bogra and Rangpur. Apart from the cost of transportation, I cover the expenses of the family with what I earn.

Local wholesaler. Akbar Ali said that a raw bale from the tree is to be bought at 8 to 9 taka and a ripe bale at the rate of 12 to 15 taka. Which is marketed in Dhaka at more than double the price. Therefore, the traffic of traders from other districts in search of cheap bales is increasing in different towns of Matiranga.

According to Matiranga Upazila Agriculture Officer sources, in Matiranga Upazila, the amount of bel cultivated land is 35 hectares and the production is 130 metric tons.

Matiranga Agriculture Deputy Assistant Officer Md. Amir Hossain said, Bale is a fruit with great potential in Matiranga, if commercial cultivation of Bale is started, it can be supplied to the plain after the demand of Bale in this region. Bale gardens do not require much care. So farmers have a chance to profit by planting vines.