Md. Abdul Based Panchagarh Correspondent: Home furniture is being made from Kanchan/Bombay bamboo, a different species, in Tentulia, Panchagarh. Artisans need government support to expand the bamboo industry business.
Sharialjot village is located in a beautiful natural environment with dense shade, about 7 kilometers away from Tentulia Upazila headquarters in Panchagarh, the northernmost district of the country. The village is surrounded by a barbed wire fence on the Indian border on three sides on the south, east and west. As evening approaches, the lights of the Indian border posts come on, and the village is illuminated like a Josna night. Islampur and Chopra police stations of Jalpaiguri district of India are to the west and Dinajpur in the northern district is to the south. Shariajot village looks like an island with the letter ‘B’. The people of the village have reached Tentulia Upazila headquarters, the northern gateway. Although it is a border village, it is quite well known to the people of the country due to the cultivation of Kanchan or Bombay bamboo and seasonal and winter foreign spring tulip flowers. This village produces a different type of bamboo called Kanchan or Bombay bamboo. The bamboo is about 20-22 inches wide and 150-200 feet long. It looks much thicker than the betel tree. Although it is known as Bombay bamboo to the people of India, it is known as Kanchan bamboo in the Tentulia region. Before the War of Independence, the late Sarafat Ali of Shariajot village brought the seeds of this bamboo from the Chopra police station area of India and planted it in his house for the first time. From his house, a new species of Bombay/Kanchan bamboo emerged in the northern region. Bombay bamboo gradually spread to different parts of the country, including Tentulia Upazila. Bamboo farmers say that Bombay bamboo seedlings reach maturity within 6 months of emerging from the roots and can be used for any purpose. Each bamboo is sold in the market for 250-350 taka. Kanchan or Bombay bamboo is used for various purposes including home furnishings. In the past few years, news of Kanchan bamboo coming to Sharialjot village has been published in print, electronic and social media. As a result, people from different parts of the country are coming to the village and buying Kanchan bamboo seedlings at a price of 500-700 taka per seedling. Kanchan bamboo seedlings are usually available from the middle of the month of Chaitra to the month of Baishakh. Students, teachers and tourists from various schools, colleges and universities of the country come to Sharialjot village to take a look at Kanchan bamboo. Every week, artisans and traders who make fine furniture from far and wide in the country bring Kanchan bamboo in long-distance coaches, trucks and minibuses. Currently, Kanchan bamboo is being cultivated in the homes of people in various areas of Panchagarh including Dorjipara, Chimanjot, Magura, Sahebjot, Tirnoihat, Banglabandha and other areas of Tentulia. The demand for fine furniture made of Kanchan bamboo is constantly increasing in the country and abroad. But no factory for fine furniture made of Bombay/Kanchan bamboo has been established in Tentulia, a tourist area with huge potential, either by the government or by the private sector. According to local artisans who make fine furniture, with the support of the government, the commercial Kanchan bamboo industry in this area will expand and the village will achieve economic prosperity along with government revenue. In this regard,
Md. Asaduzzaman Sarkar, Research Officer of the Regional Bamboo Research and Training Center, Bangladesh Forest Research Institute, Domar, Nilphamari, told this reporter on mobile phone that a different species of bamboo, Bombay/Kanchan, is cultivated in Tentulia Upazila of Panchagarh. The said bamboo is used to make home furnishings. It has not yet started commercial cultivation. However, through our organization, we provide technical support along with training to youth/individuals interested in making home furnishings along with advice from bamboo farmers.Due to which there is no possibility of the bamboo tree being destroyed. The activities of this organization will gradually expand to the northern districts. Then people will get the benefits of the bamboo industry. 22-04-2025 #
