UNB, Jhalakathi :
After several years of relatively dull business, hundreds of fruit growers in the district’s guava-rich zones in the district are elated this year at the prospect of a bumper production of the tropical fruit.
Scores of buyers now flock the region’s Bhimruli floating market for purchasing guavas in bulk every day from day break to noon.
It has also attracted the attention of local and international tourists who keep the floating guava market as a must-see place in their tour itinerary.
The farmers load their produces on a boat in the wee hours of dawn everyday and sell them off in the market.
This year, a maund (forty kilograms) of guavas cost somewhere between Tk 250-500, stabilising a market which was in slump for the past decade.
Farmers said government’s initiative of linking Bhimruli Bazar with local growth centres through better road infrastructures paved way for improved shipments of locally grown guavas. Now they are able to meet the demands of Dhaka, Khulna and Sylhet region easily thanks to implementation of a Tk. 5 crore road developments.
The local agriculture department acknowledged the recent success story and added that guavas this year were planted in twelve villages, spanning over 500 hectares.
This has brought them Tk 2.5-3 crore in revenue.
A survey is underway for setting up of a cold storage by the Industries Ministry. Currently a rest house and public washrooms are being constructed for tourists.
After several years of relatively dull business, hundreds of fruit growers in the district’s guava-rich zones in the district are elated this year at the prospect of a bumper production of the tropical fruit.
Scores of buyers now flock the region’s Bhimruli floating market for purchasing guavas in bulk every day from day break to noon.
It has also attracted the attention of local and international tourists who keep the floating guava market as a must-see place in their tour itinerary.
The farmers load their produces on a boat in the wee hours of dawn everyday and sell them off in the market.
This year, a maund (forty kilograms) of guavas cost somewhere between Tk 250-500, stabilising a market which was in slump for the past decade.
Farmers said government’s initiative of linking Bhimruli Bazar with local growth centres through better road infrastructures paved way for improved shipments of locally grown guavas. Now they are able to meet the demands of Dhaka, Khulna and Sylhet region easily thanks to implementation of a Tk. 5 crore road developments.
The local agriculture department acknowledged the recent success story and added that guavas this year were planted in twelve villages, spanning over 500 hectares.
This has brought them Tk 2.5-3 crore in revenue.
A survey is underway for setting up of a cold storage by the Industries Ministry. Currently a rest house and public washrooms are being constructed for tourists.
