Rangamati, Bandarban and Khagrachhari are the three districts of Chittagong hill tracts. ‘Chander gari’ is a commonly used vehicle in Chittagong hill tract areas. The meaning of chander gari is ‘Moon’s car’. The moon’s car is basically a British-era jeep. But the local people gave this name to the vehicle. Although there is no reliable information about why the ancient four-wheel-drive vehicle later became known as chander gari, two types of tales are heard in the area. The first one is – People living in hilly areas never imagined that one day they would get to see engine-driven vehicles. It was beyond their imagination. Hence, when they actually got it, they thought it might be from moon because moon is used as a metaphor for beauty, prosperity etc. And the second one is- Since this vehicle is able to travel on the high hilly roads, they assumed that the car was capable of going to the moon too.
A few decades ago, chander gari appeared as a blessing of God in the life of CHT people where they had to walk for three or two days or more to reach a destination, is now easily reachable with the help of this vehicle. Still now there are many places that are hard to reach or has no way to reach there. But chander gari is that one vehicle which can reach both nearby and distant inaccessible places.
The structure of this vehicle is not too big like truck or bus and also not small like car which is suitable to travel in the rural hilly areas. We already know most of the roads of hill tract regions are narrow, zigzag and sometimes uphill- sometimes downhill. So, chander gari is considered as the most suitable mode of transportation here. Besides that, not only it carries people, it is also used in delivering all kinds of goods including jackfruit, banana, pineapple, turmeric, ginger from rural area to the local hat-bazar. Chander gari is available here all day and night. People also use this car for many purposes like wedding, picnic, taking patient to the hospital, political activities ( rallies, campaining etc). That’s why chander gari is one of the sources of earning for a large section of poor people in hill tracts.
Vehicles such as this one dominate rural communication in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Aside from the local people this vehicle is preferable to the tourists as well. The cost of chander gari is relatively low. Both sides of this vehicle is wide open, anyone can enjoy the beautiful and unique sceneries of hill district while going from one spot to another.
Despite having advantages, the ‘Moon’s car’ has some drawbacks too. It is maybe designed for barely 12 people but it carries much more than that which is very risky and illegal. People even sit on the roof. We often hear the news of accidents of this vehicle. Many people die or become seriously injured from the accidents. As there is almost no alternatives people travel risking their lives. Most of the time the drivers of this vehicle do not have the required documents such as – driving license, fitness certificate of the car. Many drivers and helpers have no idea about traffic laws. Hill tract roads are already accident prone. There are almost everywhere signs saying to control the speed. But the drivers are reckless. They are seen to drive at a high speed. Even sometimes the under-aged and older people drive this vehicle which often leads to unpleasant incidents.
However, once in the remote areas of Chittagong hill tracts Chander gari/Moon’s car was the only way of communication. Although today the communication system of hill tract region has very much improved, the value of this vehicle is still demanding. Especially in the tourist seasons. Even in this modern age, this British-era vehicle is still meeting the needs of many people.
Written by Dipita Chakma
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