Chuadanga Correspondent:

With the onset of winter in Chuadanga, the district’s crisp air fills with the sweet aroma of boiling date palm sap — an unmistakable sign that the ‘khejur gur’ (date molasses) season has arrived.

Revered for its rich flavour, distinctive fragrance and natural purity, Chuadanga’s traditional khejur gur is enjoying growing demand not only in domestic markets but also abroad.

From the start of the season, sap collectors — locally known as gachhi — are busy across the district. Some climb date palm trees before dawn to tap fresh sap, while others spend long hours boiling it down over open fires to produce the prized molasses.

According to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), Chuadanga has set a production target of around 3,000 tonnes of date palm molasses this season, with an estimated market value exceeding Tk50 crore.

Sarojganj hosts the district’s largest wholesale market for the delicacy, locally known as noli or ‘nolen gur’, while other active trading hubs include Badraganj, Jayrampur, Hijolgari, Dinnatpur, Doster Haat, Jibannagar and Hasad Bazar.

Traders said that during the peak season, an estimated 50 to 60 truckloads of molasses are transported weekly from Sarojganj and other markets to destinations across the country.

A portion is also exported overseas, where the product is particularly popular among non-resident Bangladeshis seeking authentic, high-quality nolen gur, they added.

DAE Deputy Director Masudur Rahman Sarkar said that with approximately 272,000 date palm trees across the district, the production target for the current season has been set at 2,900 tonnes.

“The agriculture department is providing regular technical guidance to ensure quality and improve productivity,” he said.

For sap collectors like Harun-ur-Rashid of Pirpur village, the process is labour-intensive — from tapping trees in the early hours to collecting sap and boiling it for hours on end.

“Despite the intense workload, the effort feels worthwhile,” he said, adding that consumers often remark that nothing compares to Chuadanga’s molasses.

A VANISHING TRADITION

Yet behind the seasonal buzz lies a troubling reality. Sap collectors and local residents warn that date palm trees are disappearing at an alarming rate.

Younger generations are increasingly reluctant to enter the profession, while indiscriminate felling of date palm trees for firewood, particularly to supply brick kilns, has hastened the depletion of this traditional resource.

Zahir Raihan, a local journalist, recalled a time when rows of date palm trees lined village roads and fields.

“Now, in many places, you don’t see them at all,” he said. “Without trees, how will there be molasses?”

He stressed the need for effective conservation measures to protect date palm trees, alongside sustainable support for sap collectors, to ensure the survival of Chuadanga’s centuries-old khejur gur tradition.