After many failed plans and attempts of visiting the Sundarbans, this time I was determined and
stayed firm on my plan to visit the Bhagabatpur Crocodile Project
situated on the periphery of the Sundarbans. With little information
available on the internet it was a tough task to chalk out a proper
plan.
Bhagabatpur
can be reached by Namkhana or by Kakdwip; we took the later route as we
had more information on that. We later came to know that from Namkhana (it is one of the nearest gateway to the Sundarbans), take the regular ferry service, which leaves you stranded in Bhagabatpur; the other option is to hire a boat for a whole day which will cost you somewhere around 700 rupees.
The first train for Namkhana starts at 4:00 am from Sealdah, followed by regular trains at 5:00 am, 7:15 am, 9.05 am; which departs
from Sealdah South Section. We took the 7:15 train. Even on a Sunday
the train was pretty crowded, I couldn’t imagine what it would be like
on a weekday.
It
was already 10:30 am when we got down at Kakdwip railway station. A 10
minutes ride on an open rickshaw (van as the locals call it) took us to
the Bus Stand; from there another half an hours bus ride took us to
Gangadharpur. We got down from the bus, and a walk of two to three
minutes took us to the local ferry service (kheya par).
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| The Ferry |
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On
the other side we hired a rickshaw van for three hundred bucks that
took us to the Bhagabatpur Sanctuary. It was an hour and a half long
bumpy ride, which took a toll on our poor bums. At the end of the day hour bums were aching and had lost its skin the scenery was excruciatingly beautiful. There was the village fair, the golden rice fields, the rustic village ladies and the innocent kids (goat) going about with their activities.
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| Motorized Rickshaw Van - a common mode of transport in villages and towns |
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| The Road Behind |
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| At last the wait is over |
We were shown around the Sanctuary by the forest warden. He was very kind and informative.
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| Yup! There you are. |
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| Morning to dusk - A day well spent. |
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| Yup!... So long bbye. |
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Hope to return someday and see some of the crocs Hatching.
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