Amazing Story of Alta Dighi

Alta Dighi is one of the largest and oldest water reservoirs in Bangladesh. It is located at Dhamurhat upazila, about 60 km from Naogaon town near the India-Bangladesh border.
It is a place where the magic of heritage blends with the beauty of nature to give visitors a spell-binding experience.
The story behind the creation and naming of the dighi is as amazing as a fairy tale. There was a king in the area called Biswanath Jagadal in the 14th Century. The land area was arid and water crisis in the kingdom reached such a level during the tenure of the king that cultivating crops became impossible.
One day, the queen dreamt that only a large water reservoir could solve the water crisis. She informed the king about her dream, and asked him to excavate a water reservoir “as far as she could walk from a certain point until her feet bled”. One morning, the queen started walking accompanied by some attendants. She kept on walking and walking, and went so far that her attendants thought it would not be possible to dig such a large water reservoir. Then, one of her attendants poured some ‘alta’ (red colour) on her feet and cried out: “Rani Ma, your feet are bleeding!” Suddenly, the queen sat down there.
King Biswanath then had a water reservoir dug as far as the queen had walked. Mysteriously, as soon as the digging ended, the reservoir filled up with crystal clear water. Subsequently, it was named Alta Dighi as ‘alta’ that was used to trick the queen from walking any further.
The dighi is now 1,113 metres in length and 21 metres in width, with a depth of 3.8 metres.
There is an attractive reserve forest around the water reservoir that is home to a variety of trees. The government declared the forest area as a national park in 2011. However, it is a little known tourist destination in Bangladesh. As it is located in a very remote area, travelling there alone is not safe.
With a vision to turn the national park into a popular tourist spot, the authorities have recently taken up a development project to attract visitors from different parts of the country. After completion of the project, the Alta Dighi National Park will be recognised as a preserver of ‘biodiversity and wildlife’ and a new horizon will open for the country’s growing tourism industry.

Photos and text: M Mahmud Ali,
PhD Candidate, BUET. 

Amazing Story of Alta Dighi

Alta Dighi is one of the largest and oldest water reservoirs in Bangladesh. It is located at Dhamurhat upazila, about 60 km from Naogaon town near the India-Bangladesh border. It is a place where the magic of heritage blends with the beauty of nature to give visitors a spell-binding experience. The story behind the creation and naming of the dighi is as amazing as a fairy tale. There was a king in the area called Biswanath Jagadal in the 14th Century. The land area was arid and water crisis in the kingdom reached such a level during the tenure of the king that cultivating crops became impossible. One day, the queen dreamt that only a large water reservoir could solve the water crisis. She informed the king about her dream, and asked him to excavate a water reservoir as far as she could walk from a certain point until her feet bled. One morning, the queen started walking accompanied by some attendants. She kept on walking and walking, and went so far that her attendants thought it would not be possible to dig such a large water reservoir. Then, one of her attendants poured some alta (red colour) on her feet and cried out: Rani Ma, your feet are bleeding! Suddenly, the queen sat down there. King Biswanath then had a water reservoir dug as far as the queen had walked. Mysteriously, as soon as the digging ended, the reservoir filled up with crystal clear water. Subsequently, it was named Alta Dighi as alta that was used to trick the queen from walking any further. The dighi is now 1,113 metres in length and 21 metres in width, with a depth of 3.8 metres. There is an attractive reserve forest around the water reservoir that is home to a variety of trees. The government declared the forest area as a national park in 2011. However, it is a little known tourist destination in Bangladesh. As it is located in a very remote area, travelling there alone is not safe. With a vision to turn the national park into a popular tourist spot, the authorities have recently taken up a development project to attract visitors from different parts of the country. After completion of the project, the Alta Dighi National Park will be recognised as a preserver of biodiversity and wildlife and a new horizon will open for the countrys growing tourism industry. Photos and text: M Mahmud Ali, PhD Candidate, BUET.