Backergunge District

Backergunge, the once‑miry frontier of the Dacca Division, is not a must‑see postcard but a case study in colonial bureaucratic cartography and swamp‑bound perseverance. The former headquarters at Barisal (now a bustling riverine town) still houses the austere Raj‑era courthouse on Daulatkhan Road, its cracked columns a reminder that British officials once tried to impose order on a landscape that floods twice a year. The real “sight” is the fossilised network of canals that still criss‑cross the lowlands: a morning punt from Barisal to the market at Baburhat, passing past paddy‑fields turning gold at sunrise, will give you the same sense of isolation that early surveyors felt when they mistook the Brahmaputra’s silt‑laden arms for solid ground. Skip the tourist‑canned boat tours that stop at the “historic” Bheramara bridge – the structure is functional, not romantic – and instead hire a local bemari driver for a two‑hour ride along the backwater road to the abandoned tea‑plantation bungalow at Ghoshpara, where the only remaining artifact is a rusted gunmetal water pump. Two days is honest: one for the colonial architecture in Barisal’s Old Town (M. Road, Bazar Gali) and one for the languid riverine circuit; three if you want to linger over the afternoon tea at the old British Club before the monsoon floods turn the roads into mire. Visit between November and February to avoid the oppressive heat and the seasonal deluge; the district’s charm is its relentless humidity and the quiet that comes when the water level recedes.

Source · Wikipedia · Backergunge District · CC-BY-SA

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