Gazi Gias Uddin Bashir:
The country’s largest guava orchard, spread across four unions in three upazilas of Jhalakathi, Barisal and Pirojpur, is now full of fruit. Every morning, farmers collect guava from the orchard and bring it to the region’s largest floating market in Bhimruli on small boats.
Wholesalers from far and wide come here to buy guava every day and take it to different areas including Dhaka, Khulna, Chittagong. Although the yield was good at the beginning of the current season, the price is also high. Currently, it is being sold at 1200 taka per maund. Garden owners say that due to the increase in the cost of using soil and fertilizer in the Kandi method, it is not as good as before.
Meanwhile, the guava orchard area is now a popular destination for thousands of domestic and foreign tourists to see the orchard and floating market.
The floating Bhimruli Hat of the region has been crowded with people since the beginning of the guava season in Jhalakati. Tourists visit this floating hat in small boats every day in Bhimruli Canal. On Fridays and Saturdays, the crowds of tourists are noticeable.
Every day, guavas worth lakhs of taka are bought and sold in this hat. There is a large indigenous guava garden of about three hundred years old in four unions of three upazilas of Jhalakati, Barisal and Pirojpur districts of Barisal division. The guavas in this garden last for three months, Ashadh, Shrawan and Bhadra. During this time, farmers take guavas from the garden to the market in small boats every day.
Although there are several guava buying and selling hats in the garden area, the largest hat is in Bhimruli of Jhalakati Sadar Upazila.
Thousands of tourists from home and abroad flock here every day to see the guava garden and the floating guava market, a wonderful example of natural beauty. Some come with their families, some in groups with friends, and some in organizations. They are fascinated and delighted by the vastness and beauty of this garden. There is an opportunity to tour the garden in small boats, and there is an opportunity to taste fresh guavas freshly picked from the trees. However, many have expressed concerns about the lack of accommodation and food facilities for tourists coming here and the insecurity. Md. Abdullah Al Mamun, Deputy Director, Department of Agricultural Extension, Jhalakathi, said that farmers are benefiting due to the good price of guava this year. Through this, the socio-economic condition of the people of this area is improving. In addition, the market for this popular crop is expanding rapidly through tourists coming from different parts of the country. Guava has been cultivated on 570 hectares of land in Jhalakati district this season, from which the Agriculture Department has set a production target of 5,700 metric tons.
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