After the seven months-long restriction due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the Forest Department of Bangladesh is all set to reopen Sundarbans for tourists from early November. Dipto Paul Reports.
On Sunday, the different tourist area of Sundarbans has already opened for tourists and the rest of the visiting areas will be open by the first week of November.
Local Forest station officers already informed the boat (trawler) owners for maintaining health guidelines given by the Forest Department and ordered to maintain five conditions.
The Conditions are:
- Maintaining health guideline.
- Not to carry more than 20 tourists in a boat.
- Carrying any products other than food is restricted to the tourists.
- Each boat must have a waste bin for sanitation and waste disposal.
- Playing the soundbox is restricted while traveling in the boat.
“Tourists are allowed to visit the Sundarbans from Sunday. We have already got permission from the ministry. However, tourists will have to maintain health guidelines while traveling,” said Assistant Forest Conservator Sultan Ahmed.
Meanwhile, a festive mood is created among the boat owners and travel operators by this decision of reopening Sundarbans.
Pratap, a boat owner said, “It will take a long time to overcome the loss that we face during the Corona pandemic. The operators have already started their preparations after hearing about the reopening.”
Sundarbans is the world’s largest mangrove forest and Unesco World Heritage Site where over 45,000 people visit from November to March.