Port city residents make the best of Eid holidays

With people of the port city enjoying their Eid holidays, the recreational spots of the city have been abuzz with visitors during the last few days.

All the parks of the city, the lone sea beach, the Naval Academy Road at the estuary of the river Karnaphuli and the Chittagong Zoo saw a huge turnout of visitors throughout the holiday.

People were seen thronging the Patenga Sea Beach and the Naval Academy area in the afternoon on the Eid day, and the flow continued the following three days.

A good number of people were also seen to visit the Abhoy Mitra Ghat located on the bank of the river Karnaphuli, another sought-after place for holidaymakers.

Although rain somewhat disrupted the amusement of the visitors on Eid day, bright sunny skies on Sunday and Monday brought the ideal atmosphere for them to hang out at the recreational places.

Sahedul Azam went to Patenga Sea Beach with his wife and daughter on Sunday afternoon. He said he worked in Dhaka and came home in the port city to enjoy Eid with family.

“My daughter wanted to see the sea and so I have brought her to the beach,” he said.

Like Shahedul and his family, hundreds of visitors gathered in the beach on Sunday afternoon. Some of them were seen taking baths; some children were seen to ride horses while some others were seen taking rides on speed boats.

Foy's Lake Amusement Park also saw a huge turnout over the holiday. The authorities of the park went for a number of special arrangements apart from regular rides to attract visitors.

Biswajit Ghosh, deputy manager (marketing) of Concord Amusement World – who operate the park, said around 12,000 people visited the park and amusement world in the first three days of Eid.

“The turnout of people on Monday was far bigger than the previous two days,” he said.

“We have special arrangement for the visitors,” he said, adding, “Apart from regular rides, we have arranged game shows, magic shows and Disc Jockey (DJ) for the visitors' entertainment.”

The Chittagong Zoo has also seen a good turnout of visitors in the last four days. Over 42,000 people visited the zoo during this time, said officials.

Rantisa, a sixth grader, came to Chittagong Zoo with her father on Sunday. Her father Masud Alam said Rantisa wanted to see zebra and so he brought her there.

Ruhul Amin, member secretary of Chittagong Zoo Management Committee, told The Daily Star that the zoo management committee brought six zebras at a cost of Tk 48 lakh from South Africa around three months ago.

“We expect that the cost would be recovered during the Eid holidays,” he said.

Besides, Swadhinata Park, Karnaphuli Park, Kazir Dewri Park and Butterfly Park were also abuzz with people in the last four days.