For thousands of people, visiting Haloti Beel in Natore is becoming something like visiting a sea beach. During the rainy season, increased amount of water and heavy wind together produce large waves which crash on the road running through the beel. As there is no actual sea beach in the northern part of the country, Haloti Beel is turning into an exciting tourist attraction for the people there.
Haloti Beel is in the Naldanga upazila, which is 10km north from Natore sadar upazila. In 2004, a seven-kilometers-long road was built across the beel. During the rainy season that year, large waves started crashing on the paved road, which created an ambiance of a sea beach. The locals were amused by the place, and the number of tourists increased over the last few years. The locals renamed the Patul village near the beel ‘Patul Mini Cox’s Bazar’.
GM Heera Bachhu, a tourist from Rajshahi, said: “Many people from this part of the country dream of going to Cox’ Bazar, but not many of them can afford it, so, they come to this place.”
Another tourist from Dhaka Sejuti Talukdar, who went there with her family, said she enjoyed the views around the beel very much. It was a pleasant experience for her, as she could not go to Cox’s Bazar with all of her family members, she added.
Farzana Akhter Liza came there with her husband and said they were on their honeymoon, and they liked it very much.
With the rise of the new tourist attraction, the local boatmen and other people saw newer income opportunities.
Nader Ali, a local boatman, said thousands of people visited the place everyday. He earned around Tk4,000 with a small boat and around Tk6,000 with a larger one everyday. Many people there were considering a change of profession now a days and thinking of becoming a tourist guide or a boatman, he added.
Sonia Tasnim, a university student, said if some facilities were provided by the government, then the tourist spot could really become an alternative to the Cox,s Bazar sea beaches.
District Commissioner of Natore Moshiur Rahman said over the last few years the number of tourists increased in the Haloti Beel, so the government built some toilets and garages in the nearby areas. They were also examining the nooks and crannies of developing the place further as a tourist spot.