Salient Island, BANGLADESH |
Nijhum
Dwip (In English ‘’Salient Island’’) is a
small island under Hatia upazila
of Noakhali District in Bangladesh. Previous name of this
island is Char Osmani.
A cluster of islands (mainly, Ballar Char, Kamlar Char, Char
Osman and Char Muri) emerged in the early 1950s as an alluvium in the shallow
estuary of the Bay of Bengal on the south of Noakhali. These new sandbanks
first drew the notice of a group of fishermen, who named it Baular Char
(literally, the alluvium of sand) later transformed into Ballar Char. Occupying
an area of 14,050 acres the island situated between 21 0 1 / to 22 0 6 /north
latitude and 90 0 3 / to 91 0 4 / east longitude
Migratory Birds in Nijhum Dwip: During winter, thousands of
migratory birds flock in to island. The fishermen use the airy and sunny land
as an ideal place for drying their catches from the sea. Sometimes many of them
also construct straw huts on the island as seasonal residences.
In 1974 the Forest Department took an afforestation program for
a duration of twenty years in the north side of the island. Covering an area of
nine thousand acres, it has now developed into a deep forest with a variety of
plant species. Among the trees keora is much seen. Besides this Gewa, Kankra,
Bain, Babul, Karamja, Pashur and many other species are seen.
On 8 April 2001 the government declared the 40390 acres of
forest of Jahajmara range including 9550 acres of forest land on Nijhum Dwip as
a National Park for the protection and development of the biodiversity of the
forest. But in practice, there a very lazy appearance of that declaration.
It was named 'Nijhum Dwip' by former Minister Amirul Islam Kalam
in 1979 observing its isolation and mild nature.
Population
The population in
Nijhum Dwip in 2001 was 10,670. Their main occupations are cultivation, fishing
and livestock farming. The island produces vegetables. But the island suffers
from natural calamities, and life is hard and risky.
Current
Status
Nijhum
Dwip presently has six big bazaars that mainly consist of grocery shops, small
restaurants and drug stores. These bazaars are the only places in the islands
to have electricity from generators. More than eight (8) thousand inhabitants
found their permanent settlement in the island and their occupations are mainly
cultivation and fishing. There are some NGO's and other organisations like
Proshika, Human Development Centre and JAICA who are involved with their
development projects on this island.
Accommodation
While in Nijhum Dwip
one can stay at any of several motels. Some of them have electricity supplied
by generators. Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation also has a motel there which is
the earliest of all.
Flora & Fauna
The forest department
of the government of Bangladesh created mangrove forest in Nijhum Dwip and the
main attraction in these forests is the herd of about 5000 spoted deer. The
most common type of planted tree species in the island is Koera also known as Kerfa, which has fast growing
roots holding the sandy land. The plant also supplies pillars for houses,
materials for making boats and agricultural implements, and fuel for domestic
use. In 2001, the government of Bangladesh declared Nijhum Dwip forests as
National Park. Now this island has been declared as the unique eco-touristic
spot for its ideal natural setup with the rich bio-diversification factors and
the perennial mangrove forest with wild animals like spotted deer, wild boar
and rhesus macaque and for the ideal habitat for fish resources. Since south
coast is open to the mouth of a great span of Bay of Bengal, whales were
sometimes seen though very rare nowadays.