A BIKE TOUR TO BE REMEMBERED – The Ink & Insight

TOUR PLANNING

The heat of summer is intensifying daily, and the pressure of our daily schedule is weighing heavily on daily life. A busy routine and the pressure of professional life make our lives monotonous and boring. Sometimes, we feel suffocated, our body gets numbed, and our power of thinking gets stuck somewhere. Then we feel an inner urge to become skeptical, forgetting about the tough times in our daily lives.

We are human beings of flesh and blood and not robots likeSofia of the modern world. We need leisure to boost our energy and start our work afresh. However, yesterday we made a successful bike tour with some of our friends and brothers.

At first, the admin of Creative It Jessore Kamrul vai proposed me for a short tour. Then, the other day, we and some of our friends and students of Creative IT Jashore decided to take a short trip. So, we suddenly mapped out a plan and collected contributions from every member of our group. Then we selected a suitable date and place.

PLACE SELECTION

We were planning to take a short tour. So, we decided to choose a nearby place that would not be too far or too close. It would be in between. Everyone tried from their respective areas, but nobody could suggest a suitable location. Then I mentioned a place I had visited seven or eight years ago. It was a Govt Cotton Farm located at Jagadishpur in Chowgacha Upazilla.

Once, when I was at BAF Shaheen College, I visited that place. So, I phoned one of my ex-colleagues, called Forid Uddin Sir. He told me not to worry about anything. Then, we got some relief.

INITIAL MEETING SPOT

However, all the companions of the tour were requested to gather at the Chuwa Danga Bus Stand, our initial meeting place. All of them tried to arrive at the spot on time, but some of them were delayed. It’s normal. When you will go to organize something, it happens. So, after finishing our breakfast oilless porota and dal-vaji dim, we commenced our tour.

Dim vaji and oilless porota

SIGHT-SEEING

On the way to our destination, we enjoyed the beauty of nature, but our hearts were burdened with sorrow when we saw the loss of crops due to rock rain. However, we took some still pictures of the surroundings and started our journey.

Paddy field affected by rock rain

Since seven or eight years had passed, I couldn’t recognize the way well, but the local people helped us reach it. However, after a bike tour of an hour and a half, we arrived at our destination.

NATURAL BEAUTY

The natural environment of the Cotton farm was amazing. All the areas were full of different kinds of fruit trees such as jackfruit trees, leechi trees, mango trees and so forth. But the boys got excited to see the mango trees that were full mangos. They started picking mangos from the trees. Some officers in charge saw it but they didn’t tell us anything. We picked some mangos from the trees, and took some pictures and did some vedios of that special moment.

Mango Picking

DRAMATIC SHIFT

Let’s have a dive in the history of Cotton Research Institute,Jagadishpur, Jashore.

History of Cotton Research Institute:

The cotton farm of Chawgacha Upazilla is one of the most significant organizations in Jessore. It was founded in 1980. The then President Ziaur Rahaman laid the foundation of this farm. M. Monuruzzaman of Jagadishpur was also mentioned as a founder of this organization.The primary goal was to cultivate high-yield cotton varieties suited to local conditions and train farmers.This farm is a joint venture of the government of Bangladesh and the European Union.

The reasons for establishing a cotton farm in this area:

From the third to fourth percent of the total cotton production of Bangladesh was produced in Jessore, Jhinaidah, Chuadanga, and Kustia areas. The main target of this Cotton Farm was to invent highly productive variety of cotton species condusive to local weather, to invent effective pest control measures, to research on technological advancement in cotton farming, and to supply quality cotton seeds to meet the demands of the cotton farms along with providing necessary training to the field level officers and root level farmers to capacitate them in modern farming.

Training programs:

Training plays a very pivotal role in skill development. To train up root-level cotton farmers, there is a dormitory here with an accommodation facility for 120 people. Four day-long residential training is arranged here twice a year for the cotton planters of nearby areas. There is arrangement to provide loan to the farmers through coordination with Cotton Development Board. There is also arrangement for staff training here.

New invention of this Center:

Cotton Research Institute of Jagadishpur has invented an advanced variety of cotton plant, CB-5. This highbred variety has more fiber percentage and better self-preservation against pests. Another highbred variety of cotton is now also in final stage as a testimony of the relentless effort of the scientists and field workers of this centre. Moreover, the optimum usage of fertilizer in cotton plantation has also been invented from here.

Cotton Requirements for the Garment Industries of Bangladesh:

Bangladesh requires a huge amount of cotton for its textile industries. Bangladesh annually imports around Tk 33,000 crore worth of cotton from different countries, including India, Pakistan, USA, Brazil, Australia, Argentina and some South African and central Asian countries, according to the statement.

According to a press statement by the agriculture ministry issued recently, almost 16 lakh bales of cotton are required in Bangladesh for its domestic consumption and 85 lakh bales are currently required by the country’s spinning and weaving industries for the production of yarn and fabrics for export-oriented garment factories.

My Recent Visit to the Cotton Farm:

Recently, I, along with some of my friends, have visited the farm, and I was sadden to see the present vulnerable condition of the cotton farm. A huge area of land is being left unused. I have found acres of land left empty. If these lands are cultivated properly, a significant amount of cotton can be produced from this farm. Cotton product can bring about a dramatic change in the social and economic development here in Chawgacha.

Proper measures should be taken to improve the present condition of the Cotton Farm:

The Cotton Research Institute of Jagadishpur union at Chawgacha Upazilla in Jashore district can be a great hub for the production of cotton. If the authority concerned and the government of Bangladesh take proper measures and steps, this research institute can be a game-changer for the research, production, and development of cotton fiber, which is one of the main components of the textile industries of Bangladesh. If proper measures are taken, it will increase our cotton product annually, and contribute to the cotton requirement of Bangladesh, as well as it will reduce cotton imports and thus save our foreign currency. It will also create the opportunity of employment for the local people of this region.

No more today, InshaAllah next time, I will prepare a research paper on this cotton farm. Let’s join our tour again.

When you decide to go on a tour, you should always be ready for an unwanted situation. Since we decided to have our lunch at a hotel in Chowgacha town, we were not worried about our lunch. In my opinion, in case of such a tour, we should not think too much about lunch and dinner; rather, our focus should be on the places and events we want to enjoy.

But an interesting thing happened. One of our tour members, Pollab, phoned me from our destination. He reached the place half an hour before us. In the meantime, he managed a local khala and an uncle to prepare our lunch. He told me over the phone everything, and the rest of us gave our positive response to it. Then, we hurriedly reached the spot. It was a beautiful place where we had a big school field. The name of the school is Jahadishup Govt. School.

Enjoying Mango Miexture

We immediately divided into two groups. One group stayed there and would play cricket; however, Pollab and I went to the town to buy grocery items as the village was a remote area, and we did not have a bazaar nearby.

GAME OF CRICKET

Boys Playing Cricket

The boys were playing cricket and thus enjoying the moment with each other. It was a really great view to watch. Such a type of gathering surely has a great positive impact on our minds. This sort of activity also enhances the mutual respect and understanding among us.

MOZAT BOAR ( The name of the canal)

The most exciting part of the tour was having bath in the nearby baor locally known as Mozat Baor. The scene of bath in the baor was really full of fun. As there was no fresh ghat along the baor, we hired two boat-men. When the boys got onto the boats, the boat-men placed their boats in the mid of the baor,and they had bath in the baor to their heart content. They were swimming, and jumping, and diving in the water of the baor. They told me that they dived but did’t reach the bottom of the baor as it was almost 20-30 feet deep. It was really a thrilling moment. It seemed to me that they were diving into the baor, and washing away all their pressure and anxity.

JUMMA PRAYER

After the complition of bathing event, we preapred ourselves for Jumma Prayer. We said our Jumma prayer at a local mosque.

When we came from bazar, it was almost 12:00 pm. So, we were quite prepared that our lunch was not ready yet. Then suddenly, we saw a sugar cane juice maker. As the weather was warm, we were looking for such a soothing drink. So, we didn’t take to time to jump on it. Everyone enjoyed the sugar cane juice. It was feeling awesome!

In the mean time, we had our lunch ready. We thanked our local khala for making this happen.

LUNCH HOUR

Pollab and Deep selected a suitable place for lunch, and it was a local Eid Gah which was surrouded by shadows as there were trees all around the Eid Gah. Then we sat there making a circle.

MOLLICK BARI ROAD

However, after compliting our events at Jagadishpur, we immidiately set for another viral place of Chawgacha Upozilla, called Mollick Bari Road. It was almost 3-4 kilometers from Jagadishpur village, and it didn’t take too much time to reach there. Mollick Bari Road was also an amazing place to behold and enjoy. But we didn’t stay there for a long time as we would have to return home. We spent our afternoon their, and made our return journey. This is how, our exciting bike to came to an end.