Visitors can eat litchis and even take them home without paying a single taka at a unique orchard in Pabna’s Santhia upazila, where more than 200 litchi trees have been opened to the public by orchard owner Mostafa Jamal Shamim.
The eight-bigha orchard, located in Alokdia village, remains open to local residents, visitors, poor families and children, who can freely pick and enjoy the seasonal fruit.
There is no entry fee, boundary wall or barbed-wire fence around the orchard.
A visit to the site showed rows of litchi trees laden with clusters of ripe fruit in an open field beside the Ichamati River. Men, women and children from different walks of life were seen gathering there to enjoy the rare experience of eating litchis free of cost.
Mostafa Jamal Shamim said he established the orchard around one and a half decades ago on land purchased with family and personal funds. He added that he has never sold any of the fruit produced there.
“I started this initiative mainly to bring joy to village people, especially children,” he said.
“I do not use chemical fertilisers or pesticides. The orchard is open not only for people but also for birds and animals. Hearing that people come here in groups to eat litchis gives me satisfaction,” he added.
Locals said Shamim is well known in the area for his involvement in business, teaching and social activities. They said many people in the village now get the opportunity to enjoy seasonal fruit free of cost because of his initiative.
College teacher Arif Ahmed Siddique, who visited the orchard after seeing posts on social media, described the initiative as rare in a highly commercialised time.
Visitor Pavel Mridha said opening a 200-tree orchard to the public without charge deserves appreciation at a time when almost everything has become commercial.
Local schoolteacher Raju Ahmed said many villagers no longer need to buy litchis from the market because of the initiative.
“Anyone can come here and eat litchis whenever they want. No permission is needed,” he said.
Deputy Director of the Pabna Department of Agricultural Extension Agriculturist Jahangir Alam said such initiatives are rarely seen and described it as a positive example for poor people.
“If other orchard owners come forward with similar humanitarian initiatives, society will benefit,” he added.
