Mathin’s Well is situated on the compound of Teknaf Police Station near Naf River in Teknaf Upazila, Coxs Bazar Teknaf had only one well which provides drinkable water in 18th century. Among them, young Rakhine women would daily come to draw water from the well in the police station compound. Incidentally Police officer in the rank of SP, Dhiraj Bhattacharya, was stripped from Kolkata and sent to this station. One of these many and much more came to take water was Mathin, the daughter of a Rakhine landlord.
It was fate (chance), at least for people at that time, that Mathin and Dhiraj became lovers and decided to marry. Just at this moment, suddenly, Dhiraj learned that his father was sick, and had to return to Kolkata. Mathin did all she could to dissuade him from going-she was afraid he might never again come back out of Kolkata. But Dhiraj left for Kolkata with out telling Mathin what was happening there, and gave no message at all: someday soon she would hear from him After her dear one left, Mathin waited for him in sleepless nights, and went hungry days for a long time; finally giving up her fair young life she passed away.
This symbol of the mutual love between Dhiraj and Mathin was preserved by the local police administration and named ‘Mathin’s Well’ (Mathiner Kup). In 2006, however, 80 years later Teknaf police officer Khaled Hossain and journalist Abdul Quddus Rana renovated Mathin’s Well. But after all these years, Mathin’s Well still remains synonymous with eternal love.
Getting There
If you are in Dhaka, you can go to Teknaf directly by bus.From Fakirapool, Arambagh, Abdullahpur, Gabtoli and Sayedabad, there are direct buses to Teknaf. There are various bus lines such as Shyamoli, Saintmerton Transport Company Limited, Eagle, S Alam Paribahan, Modern Line, Green Line and so on, where ticket prices range from 900 to 2500 BDT depending on the type and quality of the bus.Mathin’s Well is located within the Teknaf Police Compound, in the very heart of the town of Teknaf!
Another option is reachable from Dhaka by bus, train, or air and then you can visit Mathin’s Well at Cox’s Bazar. In the effort to move straight to Cox’s Bazar by train from Dhaka, there are two choices: Take either the Cox’s Bazar Express or Tourist Class train from Kamalapur or Airport Railway Station. If it suits you, instead you can reach Cox’s Bazar from Dhaka via Chittagong by trains like Sonar Bangla, Subarna Express, Turna Nishitha, Mahanagar Provati / Godhuli and the like, depending on which train better fits your schedule. Depending on the type of class, train fares could range from 405 to 1,398 BDT. Some remarkable bus services on the Dhaka-Cox’s Bazar route are Saudia, S Alam Mercedes Benz, Green Line, Hanif Enterprise, Shyamoli Transport, Sohag Transport, S Alam Transport, Modern Line, etc., with fares ranging from 900 to 2500 BDT per seat depending on the class. From Cox’s Bazar you can reach Teknaf by local bus, jeep, or CNG auto-rickshaw.
Where to Stay
Most visitors to Teknaf prefer to stay in a hotel in Cox ‘sBazar so they can travel to Teknaf and back again by the same day.However, accommodation can be found at motels under the Bangladesh Tourism Corporation in Teknaf Town. Rooms range from 600 to 1500 taka depending on the type of room.Moreover, there are other hotels of a higher grade in Teknaf where the rent is from 500 to 1000 taka.
