Dhaka Division is an administrative division within Bangladesh. The capital and largest city is Dhaka. The division covers an area of 31,119.97 km², and has a population of 38,678,000 (2000). Dhaka Division bounds the Indian state of Meghalaya to the north, Barisal and Chittagong Divisions on the south, Sylhet and Chittagong Divisions to the east, Rajshahi and Khulna Divisions to the west.
Geography
Narayanganj district is bounded by GAZIPUR and NARSINGDI districts on the north, BRAHMANBARIA and COMILLA districts on the east, MUNSHIGANJ district on the south, and Dhaka district on the west. Geologically, the area lies on the edge of the MADHUPUR TRACT and the Holocene floodplain deposits form the aquifer. The total area of the district is 759.57 sq km., of which 48.56 sq km. is reverine and 0.60 sq km. is under forest. The district lies between 23°33´and 23°57´north latitude and between 90°26´ and 90°45´ east longitude. Narayanganj town has a population of 1.5 million and is located some 20 km southeast of Dhaka on the flat Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna alluvial plain. It is flanked by the Shitalakshya river on the east and the BURIGANGA river on the south and southwest. The Shitalakshya river divides the town into two parts, the Narayanganj Municipal Area and Kadam Rasul Municipal Area. This area is crossed by many small artificial canals fed by monsoon rain. Average annual rainfall is 2550 mm, 80 to 90% of which occurs between May and October.
History
Narayanganj a former sub-division of DHAKA district was upgraded to a district in February 1984. The oldest and the most prominent river port of Bangladesh, Narayanganj grew into grew in importance after the arrival of the Portuguese and the English traders during the early parts of the 17th and 18th centuries respectively. Though the west bank of Shitalakshya was an important commercial centre since the rule of Mir Jumla in the early years of the second half of the 17th century, Narayanganj was not very busy until the beginning of the 19th century. The first foreign company to start jute business in Narayanganj was the Rally Brothers, which, with the help of an Assamese company, started to export jute from the port to the western countries in 1830.There were 20 firms at Narayanganj in 1907-08 engaged in the purchase, bailing and supply of raw jute to Calcutta mills. Of these, 18 were in European and two in Indian ownership. With formation of Pakistan in 1947, things changed overnight. Narayanganj, which was simply a jute market, had to be converted into an industrial centre of jute. All the jute mills and presses in and around Calcutta fell to the share of India. East Pakistan was rich in the golden fibre but had no jute mill and had a very small baling capacity, which had to be increased within a short time to meet the overseas demand. The business community took up the required initiative. The Adamjees of West Pakistan came into the field at this stage and established the biggest jute mill in the world at Narayanganj. This followed establishment of a number of Jute Mills in and around Narayanganj that gave the local economy a big boost.
Places of interest
A historic place located in Narayanganj is the ancient city of Sonargaon. It is the capital of Isa Khan, a medieval ruler of Bengal. Sonargaon is also famous for producing Muslin, a delicate and fine cloth made from cotton. The Dhaka-Narayanganj-Demra (DND) embankment surrounds Narayanganj district and protects it from flooding. Narayanganj is also home to the Bangladesh Engineering and Ship Building Corporation, established in 1925 at Sonakanda on the east bank of the Shitalakshya River.
