Short tour of Kali-sthan, Henry, Frazergunj, Bakkhali, Patibunia (Mousuni Island)

Wednesday, November 25, 2020

Short tour of Kali-sthan, Henry, Frazergunj, Bakkhali, Patibunia (Mousuni Island)

19.11.2020 (Thursday) Kolkata - Diamond Harobour - Namkhana - 10 Mile - Kalistan -Henry's Island - Bakkhali (4 hrs)

20.11.2020 (Friday) Bakkhali - Frazergunj- 10 Mile- Patibunia- Mousuni Ferry Ghat- Kolkata

Mode of Transport - Car - Maruti Alto

Tour map - https://www.google.com

19.11.2020 (Thursday) Kolkata - Diamond Harbour

Namkhana (via Cable stayed bridge - no need for Barge ride) - 10 Mile

The local club through which Subrata distributed Amphan materials. We learnt people got many relief materials during Amphan - in fact there was over whelming response, they told us. But relief of Rs 20,000 per person was usurped by party workers.

Kalistan

The person in the left (standing ) is a student of Plastic technology, studying in Haldia. The person in the middle works in Kerala as construction worker - earns Rs 700 per day (gets it at the end of the day). A mistry gets Rs 1200 and a mistry with lower skill gets Rs 1000 per day in Kerala. He was in Kerala (stayed there for 5 months) before Covid . Now he is selling snacks to the tourists who come to Kalisthan. There is not even a single home stay here. We encouraged them to do it.

- Henry's Island (Closed due to Pandemic) - Bakkhali (4 hrs)

Update : Henry’s Island & Beyond: A 3-Day Coastal Trip with Anjan & Subrata from 6.6.25-8.6.25

(Or: "How We Outsmarted Barbed Wire, Overpriced Food, and Questionable Water Filters")

Day 1 (6.6.25): Arrival at Henry’s Island – Where Concrete Meets Confusion

Transport: Hired car (driver included).
Cast: Me, Anjan, Subrata

Highlights & Lowlights:

Booking Shock: The State Fisheries Development Corporation Limited website (surprisingly functional and very user friendly! I used my mobile to book it ) secured us Sundari Block—300 m from a sort-of-private beach.
Pro tip: Avoid Mangrove Block unless you enjoy 2.3km pilgrimages for a swim.
First Impressions:

Good: The complex is massive (2.5 km end-to-end, like a marathon with mosquitos).
Bad: Concrete sprawl and defunct Aquaguard (hydration = 300m trek). Thanks, progress.
Ugly: Part Barbed-wire ponds

Beach Debut: Collapsed post-lunch after Anjan and Subrata declared mutiny against the heat. Priorities: siesta > stamina.
Went to private beach post siesta.
Sundari Beach: Strolled our almost-private shore, pretending we owned it.

Dinner Drama: Walked 300m for food (twice the price of Bakkhali, half the logic). Slept dreaming of functional water filters.

It's truly a shame to see such a beautiful place marred by its own poor choices. What could have been a stunning coastal view is now a monument to dysfunctional design, complete with a broken light near the tea stall that, I'm told, has been out of commission since the Amphan cyclone. It seems they enthusiastically traded natural beauty and greenery for a frantic, concrete-paved vision of the future.

Inside the cottage, the rooms are uncomfortably small, and the peeling paint gives the walls a rather textured, forgotten look. However, in a surprising twist of fate, the toilet is, against all odds, perfectly functional.

Day 2 (7.6.25): Jambudwip Fiasco & Bakkhali Beach Therapy

Morning and Afternoon:

Jambudwip "Adventure": Hired a launch from Fraserganj Jetty with other tourists.
Plot twist: They refused to let us disembark.
Result: A scenic boat ride to… nowhere. Thanks, strangers.
Fraserganj Detour: Peeked at Benfish Resort (bigger rooms, no private beach).
Henry’s still wins—barely.

Evening:

Bakkhali Beach Bliss: Sat on the sand, questioning life choices (mainly, why we didn’t just stay here !).
Ate ₹100 meals like kings vs ₹250 in the resort.
Take that, Resort Markup!

Day 3 (8.6.25): Escape from Kakdwip – A Road Survival Guide

5:30 AM Exodus: Fled Henry’s Island like bank robbers.

Why?

Single-lane roads + Kakdwip traffic = vehicular purgatory. Made it to Kolkata in 2.5 hours—a miracle.

Final Stats:

AC Room Cost: ₹3,808 (with GST: Government’s Sneaky Tax).
Driver’s Room: ₹200 (bargain of the century).
Lessons Learned:

Always pack extra water
Mangrove Block = punishment for past sins.
Benfish has beds; Henry’s has stories.

Verdict: 6/10

Pros: Secluded beaches, hilarious misadventures.
Cons: Concrete overload, Aquaguard betrayal.
Would we return? Maybe—with a water tanker and a GPS.
Next Trip: Somewhere with fewer fences and more functional filters.

https://wbsfdcltd.com - For online booking

We had it for Rs 140 per piece

Yudisthir Mandal (and his wife Lajjabati Mandal) owns huge tract of land behind his house - he wear many hats: he is a mason cum carpenter cum fisherman cum agriculturist cum musician !

Home stay @ Rs 500

This is the only place in Bakkhali from where the Rath yatra starts. He was greatly pained since this year it did not take place.

20.11.2020 (Friday) Bakkhali

The 16 bigha (= 320 Cottah = 230,400 sq ft) paddy field he owns after working 24 years as Sareng in a fishing trawler. Before cutting down the paddy Yudhisthir worship Basumata (Mother Earth). So the colors of his hands become red with Sindur before first cutting starts. Most of the people here use tractor (hires it from a person) for farming - but not Yudisthir, since cow drawn plough goes much below the soil than a tractor and resulting in more oxidation in the soil.

The paddy is harvested only once a year. Rest of the year nothing happens due to lack of irrigation water. Labourer gets Rs 400 per day from 8 am - 6 pm (?) for field work. Most of the people are fisherman here. During this time of the year (harvesting time) people do not go for fishing or go less than normal. They go for 3-4 days at a stretch and goes to sea 4 times a month generally. The helpers get Rs 3,000 per Lakh (Rs 100,000) of the catch. There are 11 helpers per boat.

- Frazergunj