(BSS)- Large number of tourists are seen visiting the Sundarbans, largest mangrove forest in the world, braving the winter weather coupled with dense fog sweeping the region for the last couple of days.

Basically, the tourists from home and abroad are taking tastes of scenic
beauty of different parts of the forest boarding either on trawlers and
launches amid festive mood.

On the two-day weekends Friday and Saturday, huge numbers of tourists were
seen at Karamjal, one of the main tourists spots.

Talking to BSS at Karamjal Tourist spot on Sunday, Ranjan Majumder, a private
university student, said his experience was very much charmful. None can
realise the natural beauty of Sundarbans after only reading books.

He said there are lots of things to be learnt from the forest along with its
diversity.

Shawkat Chowddhury from Narayanganj said he never came to the forest before
expressing better experience over enjoying the lush beauty ignoring the cold
bite.

Hawlader Azad Kabir, Officer-in-Charge of Karamjal Tourist and Wildlife
Breeding Centre, said huge numbers of tourists are coming here every day,
particularly on the weekends, despite the winter weather. The rising number
of visitors are mounting the revenue earning, he added.

Azad Kabir said the foreign tourists are also making them happy after
witnessing the beauties of the forest. On Saturday, 16 tourists came here
from England and Russia. Earlier on Wednesday, the first day of the New Year,
38 foreign tourists from eight countries went round the forest.

The present trend will continue until February, he added.

Talking to BSS, Mihir Kumar Doe, Conservator of Forests in Khulna, said they
have already opened three more eco-tourism centres and another is going to be
launched in the Sundarbans to manage the rising number of tourists.

Sundarbans is seeing a sharp rise in the number of tourists, prompting the
authorities to set up more four eco-tourism centres in Alibanda, Andamanik,
Shekhertek and Kalabagi.

There are already seven eco-tourism centres at Karamjal, Herbaria,
Kalagachia, Katka, Kochikhali, Dubla char and Heron Point area for tourists.

The authorities have erected watchtowers, hanging bridges, full trails for
walking, round room for sitting and pontoons for getting on and off waterways
and rest houses in different places.

Tourists normally visit the three centres in Karamjal, Herbaria and
Kalagachia with a fixed entry fee and they return within the day.

On an average, more than one lakh local and foreign tourists visit the
Sundarbans every year, bringing revenue more than Taka 1 crore.

Sundarbans directly and indirectly support the livelihood of more than 10
lakh people as this mangrove forest protects coastal people from cyclones and
floods as a shield.

A feasibility study is also being conducted to build a world-class tourism
facility near Sundarbans, keeping its ecosystem intact to make the mangrove
forest as one of the attractive tourist destinations.