Hosne Ara Parveen Khuku, Khulna

‘ML Bonorani’ and ‘ML Bonokonya’, two historic wooden launches that navigated the saline waterways of the Sundarbans for over a century, have finally been lost to time due to persistent neglect. Crippled by a severe lack of repair and maintenance, the Forest Department recently disposed of these heritage vessels through a public tender.

According to Forest Department sources, ‘ML Bonokonya’ was built in 1902 during the British era at Kolkata’s Khidderpore Dockyard at a cost of BDT 38,000. Six years later, in 1908, ‘Harrier’—the most luxurious vessel of its time—was constructed for BDT 52,947. Following Bangladesh’s Liberation War in 1971, ‘Harrier’ was renamed ‘ML Bonorani’.

When the greater Sundarbans was administrative split into East and West divisions in 2001, ‘ML Bonorani’ was assigned to the West Division and ‘ML Bonokonya’ to the East Division.

Adorned with royal Burmese teak craftsmanship, ‘Bonorani’ was a witness to history, hosting numerous VVIPs over the decades, including the Prime Minister of Ireland, the Prince of Great Britain, and ambassadors from various nations. Initially powered by a 354-horsepower steam engine, the ship was upgraded with two Deutz diesel engines in 1962 and two 200-horsepower Daewoo engines in 2004.

Zafar Master, the last captain of the launch, along with retired deckhand Md. Harun Miah, recalled that Bonorani operated for the final time in 2016. Since then, both historic vessels lay abandoned amidst extreme neglect at the Chanmari and Forest Ghat areas in Khulna.

An anonymous official from the Sundarbans Forest Department revealed that cost estimates were previously requested from the Khulna Shipyard to make the vessels operational. In 2018, a proposal totaling BDT 7 crore—BDT 3.5 crore for each launch—was submitted to the ministry, but no funding or solution materialized.

Consequently, the department resorted to auctioning them off. AZM Hasanur Rahman, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Sundarbans West, confirmed that the dilapidated ‘ML Bonorani’ was sold via tender on March 30 for BDT 2,695,100. Meanwhile, Md. Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, DFO of Sundarbans East, stated that the 124-year-old ‘ML Bonokonya’ was sold on May 11 for BDT 2,027,000.

“Any structure over a hundred years old holds archaeological value,” said Rezaul Karim Chowdhury. “If replicas could be crafted following the original designs, the younger generation would still be able to witness the ancient history of the Sundarbans.”

Imran Ahmed, Conservator of Forests (CF) for the Khulna Region, mentioned a tentative plan to build replicas to showcase the historical legacy of the launches. Work will commence once budget allocations are granted by the concerned ministry, he added.

However, civil society representatives have expressed outrage over the decision to sell off the iconic vessels. Advocate Md. Babul Howlader, Member Secretary of Khulna Nagorik Samaj, commented, “Instead of selling them off, one launch could have been preserved at the Karamjal eco-tourism center and the other at Kotka as heritage exhibits. This would have allowed tourists to visit them through ticketed entry, generating government revenue while educating the youth about the century-old history and heritage of the Sundarbans.”