The lush green surroundings of the Sundarbans, the majestic biodiversity, and the clean water of the Chuna River host Akashlina Eco Tourism Centre in Shyamnagar Upazila of Satkhira.
It is named after Jibanananda Das' famous poem, Akashlina. Now, thousands of local and foreign tourists come here to enjoy the nature of the Sundarbans. The spot is always bustling with visitors. Many come here to spend their holidays.
However, the wooden platforms built on several locations of the tourist spot are now unusable. They have become shaky, and as a result, the tourists are crossing them with great difficulty and risk. This embarrassing situation arose due to a lack of monitoring by the authorities.
Apart from this, another major problem is its toilets. There are only two toilets that, too, are in dirty condition and often left in an unusable state. As a result, visitors prefer not to use them at all.
The district administration built the tourism centre in 2016 at a cost of Tk2 crore to enable visitors to enjoy the beauty of the forest.
It expands across 250 bighas of land and falls under Kalbari of Burigoalini Union. The tourism centre has already brought about a revolutionary change in the local tourism industry.
Farin, a tourist, said: “The most beautiful place in Satkhira is the Akashlina Eco Tourism Centre. Many people come here with their families. I also came here with my friends. It feels pretty good. But the problem is, the wooden structures built here are very old. It seems that they will fall off at any moment. Several railings are also broken. In some places, there is no plank at all.”
Referring to the poor condition of the toilet, she said that the cleanliness of toilets is also very important for a tourist spot. If everything is neat and clean but the toilet is in bad shape, then the visitors will be disappointed. As a result, those who are coming to this spot are often facing trouble. The officials do not bother taking the necessary steps despite receiving complaints.
Rabindra Akash, supervisor of the tourism centre, said that the wood used in the platforms and huts is durable. But in some spots, it has lost its strength due to submersion in tidal water. “We have repaired them several times. The railing is wobbly as well and was also fixed. Further repair work will be carried out if necessary,” he added.
Regarding the poor condition of the toilets, the supervisor said: “It sometimes gets dirty when there is a crowd of visitors. Many people do not clean the washroom properly after using it. It causes embarrassment to other visitors. But our staff clean the toilets every few days.”
He said that a new toilet building will be inaugurated in a few days, and then the existing problem will be resolved.
Najibul Alam Ratul, Shyamnagar Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO), said: "I am new here. But since you mentioned the problem, we will surely take measures to solve it. New toilets are being built now. Therefore, the problem will not exist. I don't know about other problems.”