Gabkhan Channel of Jhalakathi
Gabkhan Channel of Jhalakathi
Jhalakathi is one of the
southern districts of Bangladesh which is also called Jhalokathi or Jhalokati. In
the British regime, Jhalakathi along with Patuakhali and Barisal was a center
of business with Calcutta.
Jhalakathi is famous for its
beautiful rivers and canals. Beside this, ‘shitol Pati’ (plant-based bedding)
which is very comfortable during summer hot days. In Jhalakathi, you can find
fashionable houses, mosques, archaeological structures, potteries, lime
preparation and many other historical arts and culture Especially in Jhalkathi,
there are various types of heritage monuments including hand-made lime and clay
pots which you will not only be enthralled by, but you will also be enamored by
the artists who are the bearers of our tradition.
Being a riverine district,
the best and cheap communication is waterways like launches, boats and ships. You
can have busses to get to Jhalakathi as well For a better and comfortable
journey, you have to get into big launches from Dhaka Sadarghat after sunset.
If you like to enjoy nature, you can avail of the Land Cruiser in the
morning You will find many amazing scenes beside the river Buriganga From Dhaka
Sadarghat, you will reach Barisal Launch Ghat before sunrise.
From Barisal, you can go to
Jhalakathi either hiring a taxi or bus. This district is crisscrossed by many
big rivers like Bishkhali, Dhanshiri, Gabkhan, Sugandha and their tributaries.
Jhalakathi town is located on the bank of the Bishkhali River. Being a coastal
area, tidal surge cause the entrance of salt water. As a result, many ponds, small
to large, were built in ancient times at Jhalakathi.
But there are even some
small ponds inside the orchard to be used for household purposes. These ponds are
linked with interior canals in the orchards. Rice is the main crop in the rainy
season, but in winter many winter upland crops are grown. But you will have verities
of crops in the Rabi season (winter) in this district. The district is
characterized by low and high tides like other coastal areas, which made
people accustomed to the watery wet environment of nature.
In monsoon, the villages
take an amazing look at its floating beauties. Now let's go to the Gabkan River
which people prefer to call the Gabkhan channel. In 1918, the British excavated
this channel to reduce the distance between Jhalakathi and Calcutta. This
channel connects the Pirojpur part of the Sugandha river with the Sugandha River of the Jhalkathi part. Due to the digging of this channel, the distance from Dhaka to
Mongla or Chittagong to Mongla has been reduced by 118 km.
The length of the Gabkhan
channel is 18 km. The Gabkhan Channel is called the Suez Canal of Bangladesh.
From 20 to 40 ships pass through this channel every day. The government of
Bangladesh collects a toll of 8 thousand taka from each ship. However, the
water depth of the Gabkhan channel is decreasing due to ‘not dredging its bottom’
for many years. Due to this, the passage of large ships carrying over 1500 tons
of cargo is now difficult.
The Gabkhan channel is very
important for the import and export trade of Bangladesh with Haldia port in
India. Gabkhan Channel, known as the Suez Canal of Bangladesh, is the name of a
scenic watercourse in Jhalkathi. It is as important as the Padma Meghna and
Jamuna for trade; and is also one of the most communication routes in Bangladesh.
An amazing bridge has been constructed over the Gabkhan Channel in the Kefayet Nagar
- Rupsia parts of Jhalkathi.
This beautiful bridge over
the Gabkhan Channel was the 6th China-Bangladesh Friendship Bridge which was
built in 2001. At present, this bridge is one of the tourist spots of
Jhalkathi. If you wish, you could also visit the beautiful Gabkhan bridge over
the Gabkhan channel in Jhalkathi.
Related video link:https://studio.youtube.com/video/girdFQmfjv0/edit
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