Barguna

About Barguna

Barguna is the south-western corner of Barishal division, a low coastal district where three big rivers, the Payra, the Bishkhali and the Baleshwar, run side by side into the Bay of Bengal. The Baleshwar forms its western edge and separates it from the Sundarbans in Bagerhat. Six upazilas, Amtali, Bamna, Barguna Sadar, Betagi, Patharghata and Taltali, cover about 1,831 square kilometres and are home to just over one million people according to the 2022 census.

The land here was once part of the Sundarbans forest, and fringes of mangrove still survive along the coast at Tengragiri, Haringhata and Laldia. Everything else is flat paddy, coconut and betel-nut groves, fish ponds and embankments that hold back tidal water. Cyclones are part of local memory; Sidr in 2007 hit Barguna and Patharghata especially hard, and concrete cyclone shelters stand in almost every union.

Barguna town sits on the Khakdon river near the Bishkhali. It is a quiet district headquarters rather than a big city, but it is the jumping-off point for the beaches and forests of Patharghata and Taltali, and for the Rakhine villages in the south.

History

One local explanation of the name links it to timber traders from the north who waited here for a favourable tide, the "boro gon", before crossing the fast rivers; another credits the boatmen who hauled vessels upstream with a towrope, or gun. As the forest was cleared from the 18th century, Bengali settlers and Rakhine families who had come from Arakan opened up the land for rice. Barguna became a thana under Bakerganj, a subdivision of Patuakhali in 1969 and a full district in 1984.

Its oldest monument is the Bibi Chini mosque in Betagi, linked by tradition to the Persian preacher Shah Neyamatullah, who is said to have arrived in 1659 during Shah Shuja's governorship of Bengal. During the 1971 Liberation War the Pakistan army killed prisoners at Barguna jail, and a memorial there remembers them. The writer and politician Qamarul Ahsan, former Dhaka University vice-chancellor Mohammed Akhtaruzzaman and the actor Mir Sabbir are among the district's well-known people.

Economy and livelihoods

Fishing is the backbone. The Bangladesh Fisheries Development Corporation landing centre at Patharghata is one of the two largest in the country, and trawlers from many districts unload sea hilsa, pomfret, prawns and other fish there, supported by a ring of ice factories. Drying yards at Patharghata, Kumirmara, Haringhata and Taltali produce shutki in the dry season. On land, aman rice is the main crop, and Amtali and Taltali grow large quantities of watermelon in late winter, alongside coconut, betel nut, pulses and chilli. Small rice mills, boat building and remittances complete the picture.

Food, culture and festivals

Barguna's kitchen is a coastal one: hilsa in mustard, shutki bhorta, crab and prawn curries, and coconut in almost everything. The local speech belongs to the Barishali family of dialects, with its own words for boats, tides and fish.

The Rakhine community of Taltali and Barguna Sadar adds a distinct thread. Their Buddhist temples, the water festival at the Rakhine New Year and the Buddha Purnima celebrations are open to respectful visitors, and Rakhine women weave shawls, scarves and bags on traditional hand-operated looms in bright, tightly patterned cotton.

Places to visit in Barguna

1. Tengragiri Wildlife Sanctuary (Fatrar Ban)

   Around 4,000 hectares of protected coastal mangrove in Taltali upazila, declared a sanctuary in 2010. A walkway leads through keora and gewa trees towards Sonakata beach, and visitors may see deer, monkeys and many birds.

2. Haringhata forest and Laldia beach

   A mangrove eco-park about 7 km from Patharghata town, with a wooden trail that continues to Laldia beach at the mouth of the Baleshwar and Bishkhali rivers. Early mornings are quiet and good for spotting spotted deer.

3. Bibi Chini Shahi Mosque

   A small single-domed brick mosque on a raised mound in Bibi Chini village, Betagi, protected by the Department of Archaeology. Three graves beside it are said to belong to its founder Shah Neyamatullah and his daughters.

4. Shubhosandhya beach

   A long, little-visited sandbank beach at Taltali facing the Payra estuary, known for wide sunsets and fishing boats returning in the evening.

5. Taltali Buddhist temple and Rakhine villages

   The Rakhine paras around Taltali have wooden and concrete Buddhist temples and household looms where visitors can buy woven shawls directly from the weavers.

What Barguna is famous for

• Sea hilsa
• Shutki (dried fish)
• Rakhine handloom shawl
• Watermelon
• Coconut

How to get to Barguna

From Dhaka, direct buses cross the Padma Bridge and reach Barguna in roughly 6 to 7 hours, leaving from Sayedabad and Gabtoli. Overnight launches from Sadarghat run to Barguna and Amtali and take about 12 hours or more. Another option is to fly to Barishal, about 100 km north, and continue by road. Patharghata and Taltali are reached by local bus, auto-rickshaw or motorbike from Barguna town; Taltali is also close to Kuakata.

Markets and haats

Patharghata BFDC fish landing centre

The district's great fish market, where trawler catches are auctioned at dawn and packed in ice for the rest of the country. Hilsa season peaks from August to October, apart from the government fishing ban in October.

Taltali Rakhine weavers' market

A small market set up by the Zila Parishad where Rakhine women sell handwoven shawls, scarves, bags and lungis, busiest before winter.

Amtali bazar

A busy river-and-highway trading town on the Payra, collecting watermelon, rice, coconut and fish from the surrounding unions.

Barguna at a glance

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Questions about Barguna

More districts in Barishal Division

• Barishal Rivers, rice and launches: the old heart of Bangladesh's south
• Bhola Bangladesh's biggest island, home of hilsa and buffalo-milk curd
• Jhalokati Land of guava and shitalpati, with a floating market on its canals
• Patuakhali Daughter of the sea: Kuakata's sunrise and sunset, watermelon and the Payra port
• Pirojpur Floating guava markets, timber, nurseries and gardens that float on water