Chittagong

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Chittagong (Bengali: চট্টগ্রাম, Chôţţogram) is the major seaport and second largest city of Bangladesh. It is located in the Chittagong District of Chittagong Division, in the southeastern portion of the country near Myanmar (Burma). Its longitude is 91°49'30.65"E and latitude is 22°19'49.41"N. The city was built on the banks of the Karnaphuli River, which ends nearby, in the Bay of Bengal. Chittagong has a population of over 6 million,^{[citation needed]} and is continuing to grow. It is known as one of the cleanest cities of Bangladesh.^{[citation needed]}

The largest sea port in the country, Chittagong is the main route for almost all of Bangladesh's imports and exports, and generates a huge amount of revenue each year, attracting many investors internationally.^{[citation needed]} Its harbour also contains extensively developed port facilities, and is particularly suitable for ocean steamers.

The city is Bangladesh's commercial and manufacturing centre, and home to the country's largest companies. Notably, two large eco-parks catering to ecologists and forestry-related genetic science has been opened recently in neighbouring Sitakunda and Bashkhali.

Contents 1 People and culture 2 Topography 3 History 4 Economy and development 5 Chittagonian 6 Administration 7 Main sights 8 Transportation 8.1 Ground 8.2 Railway 8.3 Air 9 See also 10 References

[edit] People and culture

The people of the city are diverse and multi-ethnic, and the native Bengali and Tibeto-Burman populations have had significant influence from Arab, Afghan, and Mughal traders and settlers, all of whom had travelled in the city after arriving on its shores many hundreds of years ago. The descendants of Portuguese settlers, known as the Firingi, also continue to live in Chittagong, as Catholic Christians, in the old Portuguese enclave of Paterghatta.

Chittagong is also home to several of the most renowned universities of Bangladesh, Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET), the International Islamic University Chittagong, the Chittagong University, established in 1966, Southern University Bangladesh, Mehedibagh,Chittagong established in the year 1998, the Chittagong College being notable examples. It also contains many madrasas (Islamic educational centres) within its borders.

[edit] Topography

Chittagong is very different in terms of topography from the rest of Bangladesh, as the city is part of the hilly regions that branch off from the Himalayas. This eastern offshoot of the Himalayas, turning south and southeast, passes through Assam and Tripura, and enters Chittagong across the river. The range loses height as it approaches Chittagong City and breaks up into small hillocks scattered all over the town. This range appears again on the southern bank of the [Karnaphuli] River and extends from one end of Chittagong District to the other. Mt. Sitakunda is the highest peak in the district, with an altitude of 1152 feet above sea level. Nangarkhana to the north of Chittagong City is 289 feet high. In the town itself, there is a peak known as Batali Hill, which used to be 280 feet high and was the highest point in the town. There was a light post at the top of Batali Hill for the guidance of vessels far away in the sea.

The district of Chittagong possesses no natural lakes. As a result, several artificial lakes and pondis or dighis, as they are popularly known, are found all over the district. A large number of dighis, both big and small, were dug during the Muslim period. A popular explanation, perhaps rumour, given for the presence of such a large number of ponds is that during the Muslim period it was felt necessary to provide ponds for the use of the womenfolk of the town. Therefore almost every well-to-do house had a pond or a dighi. Among the big ponds of Chittagong, the most interesting and beautiful might be Laldighi, Kamal Daha's Dighi, Askar Khan's Dighi and Belowa Dighi. Many of these dighis have been filled up. Laldighi is still an important place. A boundary wall has protected the entire dighi. Most of the large public meetings in Chittagong are held in the field next to Laldighi. This field is known as the Laldighi Maidan. The Assam-Bengal Railway dug two artificial lakes (in 1920 and 1924) near the Pahartali Railway Station. These lakes served as reservoirs to supply water to the Railway, especially for the steam engines.

Foy's Lake was dug in 1924 and was named after the Railway engineer Foy. It is serene, blue, and surrounded by lush, green hills, and is the site of an amusement park constructed by Concord, Bangladesh's largest construction company and the makers of the Fantasy Kingdom amusement park in Dhaka.

Chittagong city, like the entire district, is home to many natural springs. The sources of most of these springs are to be found in the hill ranges. The water from these springs is used for irrigation purposes as well as to supply drinking water. In the city proper there are a number of springs, which are bounded by concrete walls by the Municipal authorities and supply drinking water.

[edit] History

Chittagong had been a sea port since the ancient time. The Arab traders had business transactions with this port since 9th century AD. Chittagong region was under the kingdom of Arakan during sixth and seventh centuries. Before the Muslim rule Chittagong had been either under the control of the Arakans or under the kings of Burma. Sultan Fakruddin Mubarak Shah of Sonargaon conquered Chittagong in 1340. After the defeat of Sultan Giasuddin Mahmud Shah in the hands of Sher Shah in1538, the Arakanise again captured Chittagong. From this time onward until its conquest by the Mughals this region was under the control of the Portuguese and the Magh pirates. The Mughal Commandar Bujurg Umed Khan expelled the Portuguese from the area in 1666 and established Mughal rule there. The Mughals renamed Chittagong as Islamabad.

On 18th April 1930, the revolutionaries looted the Chittagong armoury under the leadership of Mastarda surya sen. During this time the leaders of the women revolutionaries were pritilata waddedar, Bina Das, Lila Ray, Kalpana Dutta etc. In 1971, The Declaration of Independence of Bangladesh was announced from swadhin bangla betar kendra located at Kalurghat, Chittagong.

The explorer Ibn Battuta passed through Chittagong during his travels.

[edit] Economy and development

The sea-borne exports consist chiefly of jute, other items being tea, raw cotton, rice and hides. There is also a large trade by country boats, bringing chiefly cotton, rice, spices, sugar and tobacco. An important modern product is cloth produced by the garment industry. Bangladesh is considering building a deep port to boast export. These plans have not been realised so far. Ship breaking was introduced to the area in 1969. This industry is concentrated at Fauzdarhat, a 16km long beach 20 km north-west of Chittagong. Poor environmental standards produce unsafe labour conditions for ship-breaking workers and release toxins such as asbestos and PCBs into the environment.^[1] Chittagong is equipped withso many industries from small to heavy industries. It has automobile industries, several export processing zones with governments direct supervision on the EPZ is maintaining the quality of EPZ.

[edit] Chittagonian

Many Chittagong natives speak Chittagonian (চাটগাঁইয়া Chaţgaiã), an Indo-European language of the Eastern Indic group. Many speakers consider their language to be a dialect of standard Bengali, the official language of Bangladesh. However, the two languages are not mutually intelligible, meaning that those who only know how to speak Standard Bengali will not understand Chittagonian speakers, and vice versa - normally the metric for languagehood among linguists. There is, however, a dialect continuum between Chittagonian and neighboring dialects of Bengali, meaning that speakers of each neighboring dialect can largely understand each other, while speakers of more distant dialects cannot. Chittagonian has approximately 14 million speakers.^[2]

[edit] Administration

Chittagong is a Divisional Headquarter. There are 64 Districts or Prefecture in Bangladesh. Chittagong is a District and also a Divisional Head Quarter of 11 Districts:

• Chittagong
• Cox's Bazar
• Rangamati
• Bandarban
• Khagrachari
• Feni
• Noakhali
• Chandpur
• Comilla
• Lakshmipur and
• Barahman Baria

Divisional Commissioner is the Highest Ranking Government Official and he is the chief coordinator of the all 11 Districts. He is assisted with 3 Additional Divisional Commissioners.

[edit] Main sights

The main attraction of Chittagong are:

Court Building: Situated on the Fairy Hill, this building commands a magnificent bird's eye view of Chittagong city, particularly at night. This gigantic Judge Court building was built immediately after the East India Company conquered and declared Chittagong as a separate administrative area in 1773. The building is huge, over 250 thousand square feet and has hundreds of rooms.

Shrine of Bayazid Bostami: This holy shrine attracts a large number of visitors and pilgrims. At its base there is a large pond with several hundred tortoises floating in the water. According to tradition, these turtles are descendants of evil spirits (djinn) who were cast into this shape because they incurred the wrath of the great saint who visited the place about 1100 years ago.

Chandanpura Mosque: Situated in the old city, the multi domed mosque is an architectural sight to behold.

World war II Cemetery: In this well-preserved cemetery at quiet and picturesque place lie buried over 700 soldiers from commonwealth countries and Japan. The War Cemetery is located in a hillside sloping place, in the south-western corner of Chittagong Medical College Hospital, beside the Badshah Mia Road of the city. The total area of this cemetery is eight acres, which is protected and supervised by the Common wealth Graves Commission.

Foy's Lake: Set amidst panoramic surroundings, this ideal spot for outings and picnics is thronged by thousands of visitors. This Lake has been created in the natural environment in 1924 by the initiative of the then Asam-Bengal Railway. This lake has been created by building a dam based on a plan by an English engineer Mr. Foy. Now an amusement park is established there.

Ethnological Museum: A unique treasure house of variety of tribal culture and heritage of Bangladesh. The Ethnological Museum of Chittagong was established in the first half of nineteen sixties. The museum contains four galleries and a small hall.

Patenga Beach: Sandy beach at the meeting place of the roaring sea and the river Karnaphuli.

Cox's Bazaar: The longest beach in the world (120 km) is situated right here, in Cox's Bazaar, 152 km south of Chittagong. It is a very popular tourist spot, as people from all over the world come here for holidays.

[edit] Transportation

Further information: Transport in Bangladesh

[edit] Ground

Transportation in Chittagong is similar to that of the country's capital Dhaka. There are various bus systems, taxis, and as well as smaller 'Baby' or 'CNG' taxis which are basically tricycle-structured motor vehicles. Also, there are the traditional manual rickshaws which are very common.

[edit] Railway

Chittagong has a station on the narrow gauge eastern section of the Bangladesh Railway. The headquarters of this railway are located here.

[edit] Air

Chittagong's international airport is the 2nd busiest in Bangladesh (after Dhaka). It has international services to destinations such as Dubai, Kolkata, Yangon and Bangkok.

[edit] See also

• Chittagong Hill Tracts
• Chittagong Division
• 1970 Bhola Cyclone
• 1991 Bangladesh Cyclone
• Chittagonian language
• A google video from Chittagong city

[edit] References

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

Coordinates: 22°22′N 91°48′E

Cities of Bangladesh
	Barisal • Bogra • Chittagong • Comilla • Dhaka • Faridpur • Jessore • Khulna • Mymensingh • Narayanganj • Rangpur • Rajshahi • Sylhet