Jaflong () is a

hill station A hill station is a touristic town located at a higher elevation than the nearby plain or valley. The English term was originally used mostly in Western imperialism in Asia, colonial Asia, but also in Africa (albeit rarely), for towns founded by ...

and tourist destination in the Division of Sylhet,

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

. It is located in Gowainghat Upazila of

Sylhet District Sylhet District (), located in north-east Bangladesh, is one of the four districts in Sylhet Division, which contains Sylhet, the regional capital. History Sylhet District was established on 3 January 1782, and until 1878 it was part of Benga ...

and situated at the border between

and the

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n state of

Meghalaya Meghalaya (; "the abode of clouds") is a states and union territories of India, state in northeast India. Its capital is Shillong. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the Assam: the United Khasi Hills an ...

, overshadowed by subtropical mountains and rainforests. It is known for its stone collections and is home of the Khasi tribe.

Introduction

Jaflong is a tourist spot in Sylhet division. It is about 60 km from Sylhet town and takes around a two hours drive to reach there. Jaflong is located amidst tea gardens and hills. It is situated beside the river Sari in the lap of Hill Khashia. Jaflong Sylhet

Attractions

* Collection of rolling stones * Colorful tribal life * Dawki and Piyain Rivers * Tea Garden * Orange and Jackfruit gardens *

Betel Betel (''Piper betle'') is a species of flowering plant in the pepper family Piperaceae, native to Southeast Asia. It is an evergreen, dioecious vine, with glossy heart-shaped leaves and white catkins. Betel plants are cultivated for their lea ...

leaf and

areca ''Areca'' is a genus of 51 species of Arecaceae, palms in the family (biology), family Arecaceae, found in humid tropical forests from the islands of the Philippines and Malaysia, India, and across Southeast Asia to Melanesia. The generic name ' ...

nut gardens * Dawki Bazar Jaflong1

Stone crushing

The land grabbers occupied government Khasiland and reserved forestland and extracted stone by cutting small hills polluting the environment of Jaflong. They also established crushing mills on the forestland without permission from the government.

Forestation program

In early 2005, Laskar Muqsudur Rahman, Deputy Conservator of Forests of the Sylhet Forest Division, stated that in Jaflong during his childhood, the 'lungs' of Greater Sylhet were at stake due to ongoing encroachments and establishments of unauthorized stone crushing mills. He took initiatives to recover the land and establish a recreation-cum-botanical park named as 'Jaflong Green Park'. The first foundation stone for the thematic Green Park at Jaflong was laid by Laskar Muqsudur Rahman, Deputy Conservator of Forests in 2005 with the cooperation of local forest staffs led by Forest Ranger Mohammad Ali. Nonetheless, at the inception it was a challenging task due to local conflicts and procedural constraints. The forestation program in Jaflong Green Park has been started under supervision of the joint forces, Jaflong Foundation and Forest Department. They have jointly taken up the forestation program with about 100 hectares of grabbed land. Under the forestation program, various types of trees, including hybrid Akash-moni, are being planted in the park to maintain ecological balance.

References

External links