A Based Panchagarh Correspondent: The Upazila Executive Officer (UNO) has taken various initiatives for the physical infrastructure development of the huge potential tourism industry of Tentulia Upazila Panchagarh.

.A large number of domestic and foreign tourists gather in Tentulia during winter. Standing on the banks of the Mahananda River, the Indian hill town of Darjeeling, the Himalayan mountains and Kanjanjungha in Sikkim and Nepal can be seen very close to the naked eye. Tourists come from all over the country to see this scene. No heavy industries have been developed in Tentulia Upazila, which borders Panchagarh, the northernmost of the country, known as the daughter of the Himalayas. Although the tea industry has expanded in the plains, it is now facing destruction due to the syndicate of tea factory owners. The physical infrastructure development of this marginal upazila has not been touched much. But in the past few years, Tentulia upazila has been steadily moving towards a tourism-rich upazila. This has opened a new door of huge potential in the tourism sector. For this, several development projects have been taken up in the field of education, tourism industry and beautification of Tentulia upazila. Among these projects, the construction of the country’s tallest flag stand and premises in the zero point area of Banglabandha Land Port, construction of gates and street lines, establishment of Tentulia Children’s Park on the banks of the Mahananda River in Tentulia Old Market, establishment of various types of children’s rides and play equipment for the entertainment of tourists and children, development of playgrounds for the physical and mental development of children and adolescents, distribution of sports equipment (football) to all primary schools, distribution of bicycles among students, distribution of school bags among students of government-registered orphanages, development of classrooms in various educational institutions, distribution of educational materials, establishment of tennis and volleyball courts on the field adjacent to the Officers’ Club, renovation of educational institutions and traditional religious institutions, and various physical infrastructural development projects are underway. In addition, to provide employment to helpless/widow and husband-abused women to return from begging, sewing machines are being provided for socio-economic welfare, and wheelchairs are being distributed among the disabled.

Md. Mahmudul Islam, a volunteer environmental activist who received the National Environment Medal in 2024 in Tentulia, Panchagarh, said that it is a good initiative to build Shishu Park and Mahananda Park for the development and aesthetics of the tourism industry in Tentulia. Due to various reasons, it has not been implemented in the past few years in Tentulia, a free zone of independence. The current UNO has taken up projects for the development of various aspects of the upazila, which is undoubtedly commendable.

Upazila Executive Officer Afroz Shaheen Khasru said that infrastructure development is being supervised to make the work of each project public welfare and public service oriented. In addition, in the future, it is necessary to avoid duplication of projects under the same name and ensure that government facilities provided under the social safety net are provided to the actual beneficiaries. For this, two new web-based softwares have been developed as a pilot and training has been provided to the heads of departments and technical personnel of the concerned departments. He sought everyone’s cooperation in identifying public welfare-oriented development projects in Tentulia Upazila and implementing them.