Dublar Char is an island located in the south of the Sundarbans in the Bangladesh part, southwest of Katkar and southeast of Hiran Point. It is an isolated island between the Kunga and the Dead Animal River. This island is well known for its Hinduism holy baths, Rash Mela and deer.
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Fishing
Dublar Char is basically a fishing village. With fishing, local people do fish-drying work. After fishing for Hilsa fish, many fishermen set up temporary settlements for four months from there to far Cox’s Bazar, Chittagong, Bagerhat, Pirojpur, Khulna, Satkhira. Fishing villages were established in Meher Ali’s Khal, Alorkol, Majher-char, Officekella, Narikelbaria, Manikkhali, Chafrakhali and Shalarchar areas. During these four months, they are staying busy with making the fish-drying work. The dried fish extracted to Asadganj market in Chittagong from here to stockpiled and sold wholesale.
Economy
The fishermen enter Dublar Char for fishing with the prior permission to collect fish from Bagerhat, the headquarters of the Eastern Division of the Sundarbans. The government receives revenue from Dublar Char on a regular basis. Every year fish traders are allowed to enter the Sundarbans In the process of paying revenue to the forest department depending on BLC or boat license certificate, DFC or Daily Fuel consumption etc. Besides, after measuring the dried fish, fisherman or traders pay the prescribed revenue to the government when they return.
Ras Mela Festival
The island is also famous for its Hindu festivals and holy baths every year in the month of Kartik (Christian November). Although it is said that this Ras Mela (Ras Fair) has been going on for 200 years, it is known that in 1923, a forest devotee of Harichand Tagore, named Haribhajan, started this fair. Every year many devotees come here to take sea bath on the occasion of Ras Purnima. Seeing the sunrise on Dublar Char, the devotees floated the fruits in the seawater. Some people play musical instruments and sing bhajans-kirtans all around. Apart from the locals, people from far and wide and even foreign tourists spontaneously take part in the Dublar Chor Ras Mela. Many foreign tourists also gather at the three-day fair.
Red-breasted Kingfishers and Madantak birds can be seen in Dublar Char. Among the animals there are deer.
