Khan Jahan Ali Bridge Khulna

Impressed by the beauty of the Rupsa river in Khulna, the poet Jibanananda Das wrote “In the murky water of the Rupsa, maybe a youngster is a white scaly pale dinga bay; Ranga Megh Satarae comes to the nest in the dark”. Khan Jahan Ali Bridge , which is more popular as Rupsa Bridge, has been built on the Rupsa River of Jibanananda . It is also called the gateway to Khulna city due to the establishment of road communication with all the southern districts and Mongla sea port through Rupsa Bridge. Rupsa Setu, built with Japanese assistance, has become a wonderful sight for the people of Khulna during all festivals and weekends.

The length of Rupsa Bridge is 1.60 km. The bridge has dedicated lanes for pedestrians and non-motorized vehicles. Besides, there are total four stairs, two at each end of the bridge to get up to the main bridge. The river bank at the west end of the bridge is always crowded with visitors. And Khulna city looks most beautiful from the bridge at night.

The distance of Rupsa Bridge from Khulna city is about 7 km. In order to go to Khulna Rupsa Setu from Dhaka, first you have to go to Khulna city. From Dhaka you can go to Khulna by road, rail or sea. By road, you can go to Khulna via Padma Setu by buses like AK Travels, Sohag, Hanif, Falguni, Seva Green Line and Tungi Para Express from Gulisthan or Sayedabad in Dhaka. The fare will be Tk 650-1400 depending on the bus. By bus, get down at Sonadanga bus terminal in Khulna city, take an easy bike or rickshaw and proceed along MA Bari road and go to Khanjahan Ali Bridge through a separate road leading to Rupsa Bridge.

By rail from Dhaka's Kamalapur to Sundarban or Chitra Express to Khulna. The rent will be Tk 625-2168. Again by sea from Dhaka's Badamtali Ghat every Wednesday steamers like PS Mashood or PS Ostrich travel to Khulna via Mongla.

Khulna city has government and private accommodation of different quality. Among the residential hotels are Tiger Garden International Hotel, City Inn Limited, Hotel Castle Salaam, Western Inn, Hotel Holiday International and Hotel Millennium. Apart from this, Khulna has government accommodation facilities like Circuit House, LGED Rest House, BIWTC Rest House, Khulna City Corporation Rest House, Mongla Bandar Rest House, Road and Road Rest House.

Khulna city has several good restaurants and cafes of medium to high quality. All kinds of food including Bengali shahi food, fast food items, Chinese are available in these restaurants. Among the popular dishes in Khulna are Ghugni and Jhalmuri of Chuijhal, Khasi and beef of Chuijhal, Biryani of Megar Mor in Khalishpur, Puri of 1 Taka, Sandesh and Lobster.

Khulna Divisional Museum , Shaheed Hadis Park, Karamjal Tourist Center , Sundarbans and Cuttack Beach are notable among the other places to visit in Khulna .

Feature Image : Balaram Mahalder