Desk Report,
Saudi dates hang in bunches in Sirajul’s garden
In a garden in Shyamnagar, Satkhira, bunches of Saudi dates are growing on trees. Many people come to see the garden of different colored dates every day. GM Sirajul Islam, a resident of Hawalbhangi village in the upazila, has established this date garden on his own initiative. Along with fish farming, he is cultivating several types of Saudi dates on eight bighas of land along the Shyamnagar-Nawabenki road. Nine of the trees planted four years ago have now borne fruit.
Saudi dates hang in bunches in Sirajul’s garden
Recently, when I visited Sirajul Islam’s garden, I saw a brick wall on one side and a wire fence on the other. The gate reads, ‘Hawalbhangi Saudi Date Garden, Proprietor: GM Sirajul Islam’. As soon as I entered, I met Sirajul. He himself was showing me around his garden and telling me various stories about date cultivation.
Sirajul Islam was born in 1971. He is a jewelry merchant by profession. His shop is called ‘Bismillah Jewelers’. He became interested in Saudi dates while performing the holy Hajj in 2011. After seeing the date orchards there, he returned and started collecting seeds. With the help of relatives, he brought the seeds and planted them experimentally at his home. Gradually, he achieved success. He said, “The weather in Shyamnagar is hot, the soil is salty. I understood that the environment here is also partly like that of Saudi Arabia. With that thought, I started cultivating dates.”
