Ratargul is a beautiful fresh water reservoir
Among the 22 fresh water reservoirs in the world, Ratargul Reservoir located in Fatehpur Union of Goain Ghat, bordering upazila of Sylhet District, Bangladesh is one of them. It was once thought to be the only freshwater wetland in Bangladesh. But apart from Ratargul reservoir, there are three other fresh water reservoirs in Bangladesh namely Jugirkandi Mayaban, Bujir forest and Lakshmi Baur reservoir. Covering an area of about 3,325.61 acres, this evergreen forest lies on the banks of the Goain River in the north, connected to the vast Haor and Chengir canals in the south. In 1973, the Bangladesh government declared an area of 504 acres as a wildlife sanctuary. The rest of the area is water bodies and some high places. Later on 31 May 2015 Bangladesh Forest Department declared 204.25 hectares of forest land as Special Biodiversity Conservation Area (Ratargul). Located 26 km from Sylhet city, Ratargul Swamp Forest is also known as Ratargul Swamp Forest. This endlessly beautiful reservoir is well known as the Amazon of Bangladesh to travelers.
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Two layers of vegetation are observed in the Ratargul freshwater wetland with the upper layer consisting mainly of woody plants and the lower layer consisting of thick foliage (murta). A large part of Muta, the main ingredient used to make Shitalpati, a tradition of Bangladesh, comes from this forest. This leafy plant is known as “Rata Gach” in the local language of Sylhet and the forest is named Ratargul after the Rata tree. Canopy of 73 species of plants up to a maximum height of 15 meters is a healthy forest area with 80 percent of the forest area covered by plant cover. Although the Ratargul forest is a natural forest, the forest department of the Bangladesh government regularly maintains it by planting sufficient water-tolerant trees of various varieties including cane, kadam, hijal, murta. The karach tree (scientific name: Millettia pinnata) is mostly grown in this forest. Besides, this beautiful submerged forest has around 25 species of water tolerant plants including Hijal, Karach and Varun, Pithali, Arjuna, Chatim, Gutijam and Banyan.
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| Ratargul |
The water kingdom of this wetland is very strange and diverse. Some trees are submerged up to their knees and smaller trees are half submerged in water. This tropical climate forest receives heavy rainfall every year. During the rainy season, this forest remains waterlogged for 4 to 7 months. 20-30 feet of water is then submerged and during the rest of the year the water level is about 10 feet. The forest almost dries up in winter. Meanwhile, the small canals become footpaths. Then there is only water in the big reservoirs dug by the forest department inside the forest. Water shelter for aquatic animals is in the Khorda water bodies of the forest department. In addition to the old two large reservoirs, a large lake of 3.6 square kilometers has been excavated in 2010-11 within the Ratargul forest as a bird habitat under government initiative. In winter, various birds meet in this reservoir. Various wild animals roam the branches of trees.
The average annual rainfall here is 4162 mm. The wettest month is July when the rainfall is about 1250 mm and the driest month without rain is December. Monsoon and post-monsoon season (July to October) is the best time to visit Ratargul as the water dries up in winter for the thirsty hikers. As the forest vegetation is visible under the clear water of Haor, many tourists come during the rainy season at Ratargul. Tourists enjoy dinghy boat trips in the Gohin forest. Sometimes we see fishermen throwing nets and catching fish. Somewhere in the dense vegetation, not even a speck of sunlight can be seen in the dark. At noon, the call of insects, the sound of water, birds suddenly flying and big fish floating in the clear water are thrilled by the thrill of travel. Sometimes the path will be blocked by trees and you have to move forward with both hands to move the trees. All in all, night travel means fascination and a thrilling experience.
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