Mismanagement in Lawachhara?
A friend of mine and I visited Lawachhara National Park on 23 January and would like to bring to your notice certain glaring aspects of mismanagement and corruption at the Information Office there.
1. Entrance ticket: We paid Tk. 60 for 3 persons (including driver) and got one ticket. My friend just kept it in the pocket without examining it. On returning home to Dhaka I find that the ticket is a counterfoil with the staple mark on the left and is a used one. The serial no is 11493 and was used once for 2 persons on 1.5.08, and again for 3 persons on 23.1.09. The figures 2 and 3 and the dates are written by hand on either side of the ticket. Groups of visitors were coming in. We saw no control or counting.
2. Trails: The notice board says that there are 3 trails of half, one, and three hour durations. We wanted to take the 3-hour one, but were told that it was not available. So we opted for the 2-hour one. It got completed in one hour.
3. Guides: There is no rate chart for the guides on the notice board or anywhere else. We were told to pay Tk. 500 for the 2-hour guide, which we did. We were also told that there would not be any receipt given for this amount. However, if we wanted one the guide would write it on plain paper. We were allotted Mr. Benedict Daring as guide “on serial basis”. He was helpful and friendly. After completing the official trek (in one hour as mentioned above) we made a private arrangement with him and he took us on a nearly 3-hour hike through Lawachhara, Khasia Punji and Jagchara and Maizdhi Tea Estates, which was most enjoyable.
4. Guide Books: We bought two sets of three guide books @ Tk175 per set, but were given receipt for one set only (receipt no. 2431 dt 23.1.09).
5. Road Sign: The sign board on the Srimongol-Maulvi Bazar roadside mentions the distance to the Baikka Beel Bird Sanctuary in Hail Haor as 10 km, but the actual distance from the main road to the watch tower is more like 18km.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments