বাঁশখালী, চট্টগ্রাম

Many of us are familiar with the folktale and love story of Monu Mia Saodagar and Maleka Banu. About 300 years ago, Jomidar Manu Mia, a trader, lived in the area now known as Anwara Upazila. While passing through her village, he fell in love with Maleka Banu, daughter of Amir Muhammad Chowdhury, and married her.

After her departure, Maleka Babu’s father built a mosque and Dighi. Though the mosque is still in the Banshkhali area guide, the Dighi has ceased to exist over time. This famous love story of Manu Mia and Maleka Banu took place in the Saral Union of Bashkhali Upazila, located in the south of the Chattogram District.

The upazila has a 376.9 square kilometer land area, and the population is over 4.5 lakh. It is bounded by the Sangu River, Anwara Upazila, Chakaria Upazila, Pekua Upazila, Lohagora Upazila, Satkania Upazila, and the Bay of Bengal. There have been many theories and debates on how the area's name became Banshkhali, but none of them are known to be authentic.

Though it is located far from the metropolitan city area, Banshkhali can easily be one of the prominent and well-established areas of the Chattogram District. The main economic sources of the upazila are agriculture and cultivation, such as paddy, betel leaf, tea, lychee, and many types of vegetables. It is also known for fish farms, salt cultivation, cottage industry, fisheries etc. Many of the products manufactured and grown in this upazila are exported around the world.

Anyone can travel to Banshkhali directly from Chattogram City using Bahaddarhat or New Bridge Road using the bus routes. The buses come through the Telar Dip Bridge over the Sangu River and come all the way to Upazila. However, there are no train routes in the area.

The Upazila town area is filled with tall buildings and concrete houses, giving it an ever-bustling urban vibe. But if you want a taste of the rural environment, you only have to travel a few kilometers inside the city and enjoy Upazila’s diverse natural beauty. It has the Banshkhali Sea Beach area on one side and the Chattogram Hilly areas on the other side.

Other than various sea beach points, you can also visit many other tourist spots and significant locations in Upazila. Some of the popular ones are the Chandpur-Belgaon Tea Estate, Banglabazar Jetty Ghat, Jalkadar Canal, Shree Shree Chintahari Sadhanpith Jogashram, Bakhshi Hamid Mosque, Saral Maleka Banu Jame Mosque, Hrishi Dham, etc.