Haors of Sylhet

Exploring the Haors of Sylhet

Haors are special type of Inland Wetlands of Bangladesh situated in thenorth-eastern zone of the country. They are fresh water (seasonal) inland lakes. Considering the importance of Haorin the national economy as well as of its hydrological characteristics and very rich biodiversity, it wasfelt necessary to prepare a separate volume of the report, exclusively dealing with Haors.

Sylhet is themaintown of the division, where the divisionalheadquarters as wellas Sylhet district headquarters are located. It has an area of 349,000 ha and a population of 3,404,000 (Census, 2011). There are 13 Upazilas in Sylhet and they are Balaganj, BeaniBazar, Bishwanath, Companiganj, Fenchuganj, Golapganj, Gowainghat, Jaintiapur,Kanaighat, Osmani Nagar, Dakshin Surma, Sylhet Sadar and Zakiganj. Sylhet District isbordered by Khasia-Jainta Hill tracts of Indian Border area to the north, Maulvibazar districtto the south, Kachhar and Karimganj districts of Assam (India) to the east, Sunamganj districtto the west.Its most famous natural tourist spot is Jaflong and it is also home to thegrave of the Muslim saint, Hazrat Shah Jalal Yamani, located in Sylhet town. There are 105 Haors in this district. Boro Haor, Patharchuli Haor, Dhamrir Haor, Banaiya Haor are some of the largest Haors in this district.
 

There are 13 Upazilas and 105 Haors in Sylhet District. Among these Upazilas, Osmani Nagar does nothaveany Haors. Haors of the rest 12 Upazilas and their maps have been given below.  the number of Haors (Upazila wise) of Sylhet District.

• Some Haors are stretched over more than one Upazila, sometimes over more than one district. While recording these Haors, they have been shown in all Upazilas, hence theapparent discrepancy is observed in the total number of Haors.

• In Sylhet District, thefollowing Haors are stretched over more than one Upazilas Amura, Baldi,Baurbhag, Bedu, Borobandh, Budhigai, Damdama, Dhamrir, Dubriary,Fatehganj, Jhingarkhal, Khagra, Khas, Lakhair, Lamagaon, Lubha, Lular, Patharchuli,Purna Chahagram, Ruhilakani  Haor.

• Banaiya and Chiluar Haors are stretched over more than one district.