Tanguar
Haor
Tanguar Haor a large
haor lies within Sunamganj district
extending over 10 mauzas of Dharmapasha
and Tahirpur upazilas of the district.
The mauzas covering the Tanguar haor
are (1) Jagadishpur, (2) Bhabanipur,
(3) Lamagaon, (4) Ramsinhapur, (5)
Mahajampur, (6) Maindag, (7) Mayajuri,
(8) Bhangachara Purba, (9) Noagaon,
and (10) Tanguar Haor. The haor consists
of 120 beels of various sizes. The
area of Tanguar haor including 46
villages within the haor is about
100 sq km of which 2802.36 ha is wetland.
The haor is an ideal
place for the migratory birds. Every
winter about 200 types of migratory
birds come to this haor and make their
temporary habitat here. Once upon
a time the zamindars of Sunamganj
area used to make cruise into this
haor with large Pansi boats for hunting
birds.
The haor is an important
source of fisheries. More than 140
species of fresh water fishes are
available here. Among them the notables
are Air, Gang Magur, Baim, Tara Baim,
Gutum, Gulsha, Tengra, Titna, Garia,
Beti, Kakia etc. In the 1999-2000
fiscal year, government earned Tk
70,73,184 as revenue only from fisheries
of the haor.
Hijal (Barringtonia
acutangula), Karach (Pongamia pinnata),
Gulli, Balua, Ban Tulsi (Ocimum americanum),
Nalkhagra (Phragmites karka) and some
other important threatened species
of freshwater wetland trees are available
in this haor.
Most of the inhabitants
of the Tanguar haor are landless or
marginal farmer. As the haor allows
single crop throughout a year, seasonal
unemployment problem is very acute
here. But the farmers harvest high
yield because of the richness of the
soil though the lands are single cropped.
The haor is cyclone
prone as it located at the foothills
of the Khasi-Jaintia Hills and a number
of hailstorms also occur. Therefore
at times crops get damaged. Except
the levee or the kanda areas of the
haor the other lands of the haor are
used as pastureland. In the past the
levees were deeply covered with trees.
But afterwards the areas were deforested
widely to meet the demand of additional
lands for settlement and cultivation,
which caused environmental degradation,
and loss of biodiversity of the haor.
In the past few decades
the total environmental settings of
the Tanguar haor has degraded a lot.
In consideration of its environmental
importance and heritage, the government
has decided to save the large haor
by symbolizing it as an internationally
critical environment area and listed
the haor as a 'Ramsar area' under
Ramsar Convention. In accordance with
this, the government has taken massive
plan to restore the natural environment
and heritage of the
Tanguar haor by conserving
its water, improving agriculture and
fish production, and making the haor
secured zone for birds and animals.
The government has also decided not
to allow any developmental or commercial
activity within the haor area that
is harmful for the sensitive environment
of the haor. Besides these, the government
has banned on digging any well for
gas or oil within the 10 km area of
the haor. The natural beauty of the
Tanguar haor attracts the tourists
and the haor can be turned as an important
tourist place.
Source: Banglapedia,
National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh
Asiatic Society of Bangladesh
