Bangladesh Rural Development Academy (BARD) is a place which strives and contributes towards the progress of various rural development sectors of Bangladesh. It is an autonomous institution which aims to facilitate research and train local people of various rural areas.
AT A GLANCE Name: Bangladesh Rural Development Academy (BARD) Location: Bangladesh Rural Development Academy (BARD), Comilla, Bangladesh. Destination: Dhaka to Comilla Transport: BRTC exclusive AC bus service, Tisha Bus service, Asia Air Con. Bus Service, Upakul Travel (Royal/Platinum AC Bus Service), Prime Bus service etc. bus services from Saydabad, etc. Fair: BDT 250 – 800 (Bus) Time: 3- 4 Hours (Bus) Explore: Bangladesh Rural Development Academy (BARD), Comilla, Bangladesh. Distance: 94 km from Dhaka. Cost: Depend to coverage tourists spots. Accommodation: Hotels available. Food: Available. Advice: Keep dry foods, water, medicines, saline, glucose, extra money, and kits.
BARD is situated in Comilla, Kotbari which is 10 kilometres from Comilla town. It was formed in 1959 under the initiative of Dr Akter Hamid Khan, and after the Bangladesh War of Independence in 1971 the name became Bangladesh Rural Development Academy from Pakistan Academy of Rural Development. BARD covers an area of 156 acres of land. Inside the BARD area, there is a mosque, a library, rest house for the trainees, restaurants where tourists can have their lunch or brunch, auditorium.
There are also small hills and open spaces where tourists can relax, sit down under the shade of the trees and enjoy the lazy afternoon, which is so to say almost natural Bangladesh. BARD also offers for the tourists a unique retreat into nature and natural views, as the section of BARD which has hills and open spaces are wonderful; their tourist will be able to take beautiful pictures and see some fantastic sights which. A large part of the BARD campus consists of orchards, vegetable farms, nurseries, parks and roads lined with shady tropical trees.
The office and the residential buildings have been designed and are located with perfect synchronicity with the topography and surrounding landscape of BARD. It has been possible solely due to the well-planned layout of the institution. The green scene makes the campus a serene and idyllic beauty for the tourists to indulge into and enjoy. Above BARD where there are forest cottages is the Nilachal hill from where tourists can have a bird’s eye view of the whole BARD campus and tourists can take beautiful photographs of this magnificent scenic beauty.
Living Accommodations and Food Facilities in BARD
There is a Banokutir (forest cottage) between the two hillocks of BARD’s faculty and officers’ quarter. The forest cottage is filled with most present-day comforts of life as well as shaded with nearby hemp to coordinate with the beautiful magnificence of its encompassing territory. In the cafeteria, tourists would be able to buy pure food at reasonable price rates. Breakfast, lunch and dinner all are available at the cafeteria remains open from 6 30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Being an academy, BARD has specific rules which tourists will find when they will visit the place which they will have to follow. No loud noises are allowed besides the faculty corridors, and in the seminars, training program no loud noises of any distractions are allowed. Also, the place is filled with beautiful flowers, but no tourists can pluck them.
There are provisions of staying on the campus, but they are limited to the trainees and students of BARD. However, if there are rooms which are free, then tourists can request to the Superintendent to stay. There are VIP rooms with attached baths which would cost 250 taka. Also, the rooms of BARD are very cheap compared with the hotel prices, and tourists might take an attempt to stay at BARD and enjoy the night scenes there which is just subliminal.
Apart from that, there is no possibility to stay at BARD, and as a result, tourists can stay at the hotels in the Comilla central town. There are many quality residential hotels and rest houses in Comilla where tourists can visit. For example, Hotel Nurjahan in Paduar Bazaar, Ajmeer Rest House in Monohorpur, Ansaria Rest House in Mogoltuli, Hotel Dreamland in Chattipotti are some hotels where tourists can spend the night comfortably.
All these hotels are near inside the Comilla town so tourists will easily be able to find them. It is wise to visit the Shalbon Bihar by day and see and experience its magnanimous physical structure and the vast open spaces with hills covered by green grass and return to Comilla town before nightfall. From Comilla town, tourists can quickly travel to Shalbon Boidho Bihar and come back to Comilla town.
How to visit BARD
Tourists can easily visit BARD from Comilla central town. There are a couple of ways for tourists to visit Comilla central town from Dhaka. Firstly those tourists who prefer travelling by road for them there are various bus services BRTC exclusive AC bus service, Tisha Bus service, Asia Air Con. Bus Service, Upakul Travel (Royal/Platinum AC Bus Service), Prime Bus service and a lot more bus services are there.
Tourists can select any of these bus services and easily travel to Comilla. AC Bus tickets start from 500 taka and go up to approximately 800, more or less, taka. Non AC bus ticket costs around 300 to 350 taka, there is also bus service whose ticket cost is 250 taka. Tourists can select any of the bus services depending on their preference and travel to Comilla.
Another way to travel to Comilla is by train. There are some train services such as Dhaka Mail, Karnafuli Express, Chattala Express, Mahanagar Godhuli, Upakul Express etc. which depart from Dhaka to Comilla and also come back to Dhaka from Comilla almost every day. There are some services so tourists will have no hassle as far as availability of train tickets is concerned.
