Bhola

About Bhola

Bhola is an island district. Its main island, the largest in Bangladesh, lies where the Meghna and the Tentulia empty into the Bay of Bengal, with smaller chars and the separate island upazila of Monpura scattered around it. Seven upazilas, Bhola Sadar, Burhanuddin, Daulatkhan, Tazumuddin, Lalmohan, Char Fasson and Monpura, cover about 3,403 square kilometres, and the 2022 census counted roughly 1.93 million people.

The land is young, built from silt and still changing: new chars rise in the south while the Meghna eats away villages on the eastern shore. Bhola town sits on the western side of the island near the Tentulia and is linked to the mainland only by water, through ferries to Laharhat and Veduria on the Barishal side and to Lakshmipur in the east.

Bhola is synonymous with hilsa. The Meghna and Tentulia here are among the most productive hilsa waters in the world, and dozens of fish ghats line the coast. The island also sits on the Shahbazpur gas field, which supplies local power plants.

History

The island is thought to have started forming in the 13th century and was being farmed by around 1300. For centuries it was called Dakshin Shahbazpur and changed hands between Bakerganj and Noakhali in the colonial era before settling under Barishal in 1869; the administrative headquarters moved from Daulatkhan to Bhola in 1876. Local tradition says the town takes its name from an old ferryman, Bhola Gazi, who carried people across the creek that once ran through it. Bhola became a separate district in 1984.

The island is remembered worldwide for the cyclone of 12 November 1970, the deadliest tropical cyclone on record, whose storm surge swept across Bhola and the nearby coast; the slow official response fed the political crisis that led to the 1971 Liberation War. Bhola is also the home district of Bir Sreshtha Mostafa Kamal, one of the seven highest-decorated heroes of 1971.

Economy and livelihoods

Fishing and farming carry the economy. Tens of thousands of families depend on hilsa, and landing points such as Tulatuli and Ilisha ghats fill with buyers after each breeding-season ban ends. The fertile chars grow aman and boro rice, betel nut, coconut, chilli, soybean and vegetables, and buffaloes graze the outer islands in large herds, supplying the milk for Bhola's curd. Gas from Shahbazpur powers a growing number of plants, and many households rely on remittances.

Food, culture and festivals

Bhola's best-known taste is moishar doi, curd made from raw buffalo milk that sets on its own in a clay pot without a starter. It is thick enough to cut, slightly sour and eaten with puffed rice, chira and molasses; it has been recognised as a geographical indication product. Hilsa cooked in every way, coconut-based curries and pitha in winter complete the island table.

Life follows the rivers and the fishing calendar, from the long nights on the Meghna in the hilsa season to the quiet weeks of the ban. The 2009 film Monpura, set on a Meghna char, brought the island's landscape to a national audience.

Places to visit in Bhola

1. Char Kukri Mukri Wildlife Sanctuary

   A planted mangrove island off Char Fasson where creeks wind through keora forest. Deer, monkeys and wintering birds are the draws, and nearby Tarua beach on Dhal Char faces the open bay.

2. Jacob Tower, Char Fasson

   A slender observation tower about 225 feet (69 m) tall, opened in 2018 in Char Fasson town. A lift and stairs reach viewing floors with sweeping views of paddy, rivers and the coast.

3. Monpura island

   An island upazila in the Meghna, reached by launch or trawler, with quiet beaches, grazing land, mangrove plantations and very good fresh hilsa.

4. Bir Sreshtha Mostafa Kamal memorial

   A memorial museum and library dedicated to the Bhola-born 1971 hero, with exhibits on his life and the Liberation War.

What Bhola is famous for

• Bhola buffalo curd (moishar doi)
• Hilsa (ilish)
• Betel nut (supari)
• Coconut
• Shutki (dried fish)

How to get to Bhola

The direct way from Dhaka is by launch from Sadarghat to Ilisha ghat or Bhola, about 5 to 7 hours depending on the vessel; there are both day and overnight services. By road, take a bus over the Padma Bridge to Barishal and cross by ferry or speedboat from Laharhat or Veduria, roughly 7 to 8 hours in all. From Chattogram and Noakhali, the Lakshmipur–Ilisha ferry is the usual crossing. The nearest airport is Barishal.

Markets and haats

Bhola town curd shops

Dozens of small shops in Bhola town sell buffalo-milk curd in clay pots every day; buy fresh in the morning.

Tulatuli and Ilisha fish ghats

Busy landing points on the Meghna near Bhola town where hilsa is auctioned straight off the boats, liveliest just after the October ban ends.

Char Fasson bazar

The main market of the southern island, trading fish, rice, betel nut and vegetables from the chars, and the base for trips to Kukri Mukri.

Bhola at a glance

Shops from Bhola on Midmart

No shop from Bhola is selling on Midmart yet.

Questions about Bhola

More districts in Barishal Division

• Barishal Rivers, rice and launches: the old heart of Bangladesh's south
• Barguna Where the Bishkhali and Baleshwar meet the Bay: hilsa, mangroves and Rakhine looms
• 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