The Hakaluki Haor

The Hakaluki Haor- Travel Blog Bangaldesh

The Hakaluki Haor

Bangladesh is blessed with inland open water resources. It has numerals river canals, beels, lakes, and vast areas of floodplains. Hakaluki haor is one of the major wetlands of Bangladesh. With a lind area of 18,386 hectares, it supports a rich biodiversity and provides direct and indirect livelihood benefits to nearly 190,000 people. This haor was declared an ecological critical area in April 1999 by government of Bangladesh.

Hakaluki is a complex ecosystem, containing more than 238 interconnecting beels and jalmahals. The most important beels are Chatla, Pinlarkona, Dulla, Sakua, Barajalla, Balijhuri, Lamba, Tekonia, Haorkhal, Tural, Baghalkuri and Chinaura.

Hakaluki Haor is bonded by the Kushiara river as well as a part of the Sonai- Bardal river to the north, by the Fenchuganj- Kulaura railway to the west and to south, and by the Kulaura-Beanibazar road to the east. The hair falls under two administrive districts, Maulvibazar and Sylhet. Some 190,000 people live in the area surrounding the haor.

Hakaluki Haor is an important source of fisheries resources for Bangladesh. Kalibaus, Boal, Rui, Ghagot, Pabda and Chapila are the main fish species found here. From the Kushiara there are frequent upstream movement of fish towards the beels and tributaries of Hakaluki. The beels in Hakaluki Haor provide winter shelter for the mother fisheries. In early monsoon these mother fisheries produce millions of fries for the entire downstream fishing communities. Floodplains are also an important source of fisheries resources within the area. However, many of the beels have lost their capacity to provide shelter for mother fisheries because of sand deposits from upstream rivers and canals, use of complete dewatering technique for fishing and lack of aquatic plants to provide feed and shelter for parent fish.

This haor is a very important resting place for mygratory waterfowls flying in from the north. The most interesting species in Barheaded Goose, which is now hardly seen in fresh water wetlands. Many other important species of waterfowls make the Haor their temporary home. Unfortunately, illegal poaching has been a threat to the waterfowl population in this vast wetlands. Hakaluki haor is known as a good grazing land in winter. People from villages around the haor and also from distant areas send their herds for grazing. During this time, herders make temporary shelter near the beels and graze their animals for a period of 4-5 months. The Haor had very dance swamp forest in the past, but deforestation and a lack of conversation practices have virtually destroyed this unique Forest in the last 2 decades.

Two  small patches of swamp forests  still exist the area of which one is in Chatla beel the other near the village of Kalikrisnapur. With the exception of these two be swamp forest as well as mixed evergreen rainforest. Thatching material is the most useful natural wetland product of the area.

The haor system provides a wide range of economic and non economic benefits to the local people as well as to the people of Bangladesh. These include fish production, rice production, cattle and Buffalo rearing, collection of reeds and grasses, and collection of aquatic occurring in the months of April- May, maintains the supply of fish in other lower water bodies and provides habitat for migratory and local waterfowls.

The unique haor system contributes to the beauty of the landscape both during the Monsoon and the dry season. In monsoon, it's unique scenic beauty  makes it a huge natural bowl of water and the dry season it becomes a vest green grassland with pockets of beels serving as resting places for migratory birds. This unique natural system can be major attraction for tourists.