Dhaka City

 

Dhaka  is the capital city of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. It is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the east banks of the Buriganga River in the Ganges delta, Dhaka has an estimated population of more than 15 million people, making it the largest city in Bangladesh and the 9th largest city in the world.It is known as the City of Mosques, and with 400,000 cycle-rickshaws running on its streets every day, the city is described as the Rickshaw Capital of the World. Dhaka is also one of the world’s most densely populated cites.
Dhaka’s history dates back to c.AD 1,000, but the city achieved glory as the 17th-century Mughal capital of Bengal. English, French, and Dutch industrialists set up factories there in the 17th and 18th cent., and Dhaka passed under British rule in 1765. It became the capital of East Pakistan in 1947. The city was surrendered by the Pakistani army to Indian troops in Dec., 1971, and a few days later became capital of the provisional government of Bangladesh. Landmarks include the Dakeshwari [ "hidden goddess" ] temple, from which the city’s name probably derives; the Bara Katra palace (1644); the Lal Bagh fort (1678); and several beautiful mosques. The Univ. of Dhaka (founded 1921) and other higher educational facilities and agriculture research institutes are also in the city. The surrounding district is a very densely populated and fertile agricultural region that is subject to heavy monsoon floods.
The Old City of Dhaka was founded in the 17th century as the Mughal capital of Bengal. It was called Jahangir Nagar (City of Jahangir) and served as the centre of the worldwide muslin trade.^[9][10] The modern city, however, developed chiefly under British rule in the 19th century. After the partition of British India, Dhaka became the administrative capital of East Pakistan, and later, in 1971, the capital of independent Bangladesh. During the intervening period, the city witnessed widespread upheaval and turmoil, including many impositions of martial law, political uprisings and mass civil disobedience movements, and the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971.
Modern Dhaka is the centre of political and cultural life in Bangladesh, and serves as one of the two principal economic and industrial centers of the country, along with the southern port city of Chittagong.^[11][12] Dhaka hosts the headquarters of several major non-governmental agencies in the developing world, including the international development organization BRAC, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning development institution Grameen Bank and the medical research institute ICDDR,B. The city has the most developed urban infrastructure in the country, however it suffers from chronic urban problems of poverty, pollution and overpopulation due to increasing rural-to-urban migration in Bangladesh. The city is modernizing its transport and communications, and has been attracting large volumes of foreign investments in recent years. Dhaka has also emerged as one of the fastest growing cities in the world.

Geography

Dhaka is located in central Bangladesh at 23°42′0″N 90°22′30″E, on the eastern banks of the Buriganga River. The city lies on the lower reaches of the Ganges Delta and covers a total area of 360 square kilometres (140 sq mi).^[38] It consists of 41 thanas – Lalbagh, Kotwali, Hazaribagh, Sutrapur, Ramna, Motijheel, Paltan, Dhanmondi, Mohammadpur, Tejgaon, Gulshan, Mirpur, Pallabi, Shah Ali, Turaag, Sabujbagh, Dhaka Cantonment, Demra, Shyampur, Badda, Kafrul, Kamrangir char, Khilgaon, Uttara etc. In total the city has 130 wards and 725 mohallas.^[39] Dhaka District has an area of 1,463.60 square kilometres (565 sq mi) with a population of 18,305,671 in 2012; and is bounded by the districts of Gazipur, Tangail, Munshiganj, Rajbari, Narayanganj, Manikganj. Tropical vegetation and moist soils characterize the land, which is flat and close to sea level. This leaves Dhaka susceptible to flooding during the monsoon seasons owing to heavy rainfall and cyclones.

Climate

Dhaka experiences a hot, wet and humid tropical climate. Under the Köppen climate classification, Dhaka has a tropical savanna climate. The city has a distinct monsoonal season, with an annual average temperature of 25 °C (77 °F) and monthly means varying between 18 °C (64 °F) in January and 32 °C (90 °F) in May. Approximately 87% of the annual average rainfall of 2,123 millimeters (83.5 in) occurs between May and October.Increasing air and water pollution emanating from traffic congestion and industrial waste are serious problems affecting public health and the quality of life in the city. Water bodies and wetlands around Dhaka are facing destruction as these are being filled up to construct multi-storied buildings and other real estate developments. Coupled with pollution, such erosion of natural habitats threatens to destroy much of the regional biodiversity.

Etymology

The word Dhaka is said to refer to the Dhaka tree (Butea frondosa), once common in the area; or to Dhak ( ঢাক), a huge membranophone instrument from South Asia which was beaten by order of Subahdar Islam Khan I while inaugurating the capital in 1610.The name Dhaka may also have originated from Dhakeshwari (“The Hidden Goddess”), she is the 800 years old deity of the Divine Mother, whose shrine is located in the south-western part of the city. Some references also say that it was derived from a Prakrit dialect called Dhaka Bhasa; or Dhakka, used in the Rajtarangini for a watch-station; or it is the same as Davaka, mentioned in the Allahabad pillar inscription of Samudragupta as an eastern frontier kingdom.

Buddhist and Hindu kingdom

The existence of a settlement in the area that is now Dhaka dates from the 7th century. The small area was ruled by the Buddhist kingdom of Kamarupa and the Pala Empire before passing to the control of the Hindu Sena dynasty in the 9th century.The name of the city may have derived after the establishment of the Goddess Dhakeshwari‘s temple by Ballal Sena in the 12th century.The town itself consisted of a few market centres like Lakshmi Bazar, Shankhari Bazar, Tanti Bazar, Patuatuli, Kumartuli, Bania Nagar and Goal Nagar. After the fall of the Sena Empire, Dhaka was successively ruled by the Sultanate of Bengal as well as interruption of governors from the Delhi Sultanate.

Mughal rule

In 1576, much of Bengal came under the control of the Mughal Empire. At the time, Dhaka emerged as Mughal military base, prior to this, Chittagong was the leading city of Bengal.^[20] The development of townships and housing had resulted into a significant growth in population, as the town was proclaimed the capital (Rajmahal) of Bengal under Mughal rule in 1608, during this time many mosques, forts and universities had been built and Muslims were excused from paying taxes, this allowed many Muslims from surrounding areas to swell up the town transforming it into a city, it was at this time Dhaka was known as a city rather than a town or Fort. Mughal documents record subahdar Islam Khan as the first administrator of the city. Islam Khan named the city “Jahangir Nagar” (City of Jahangir) in honour of Emperor Jahangir, although this name was dropped soon after Jahangir’s death. A major expansion of the city took place under the direction of a general Shaista Khan on orders from the Emperor Aurangzeb in the 17th century.^[22][23] The city then measured 19 by 13 kilometres (12 by 8 mi), with a population of nearly one million people and over a 100 universities and hundreds of mosques.^[25] Mughal rule was severely weakend after the death of Aurangzeb and control of the Bengal switched hands once more, however it is noted that Mughal expansion and influences can still be seen in the region, as it was under Mughal rule that Islam came to be dominant.

British rule

The British East India Company in 1765 gained the right to collect revenue (Diwani right) on behalf of the Mughal emperor. East India company became the imperial tax collector. As company’s influence grew, East India Company later took on governing in 1793 when the Nawabs of Bengal were forced to relinquish all their authority over Bengal, Bihar and Odisha, and the city passed on to total control of East India company. The city’s population shrank dramatically during this period as the prominence of Calcutta rose,^[26] but substantive development and modernisation eventually followed. A modern civic water supply system was introduced in 1874 and electricity supply launched in 1878.The Dhaka Cantonment was established near the city, serving as a base for British and Bengali soldiers.
During the abortive Partition of Bengal in 1905, Dhaka was declared to be the capital of the newly established state of East Bengal and Assam, but Bengal was reunited in 1911.Following the Partition of India in 1947, Dhaka became the capital of East Pakistan. The city witnessed major communal violence following the partition of India.A large proportion of the city’s Hindu population departed for India, while the city received a large influx of Muslims. As the centre of regional politics, however, Dhaka saw an increasing number of political strikes and incidents of violence. The adoption of Urdu as the sole official language of Pakistan led to protest marches involving large crowds. Known as the Bengali Language Movement, the protests resulted in Pakistani police firing which killed a number of peaceful student demonstrators. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Dhaka remained a hotbed of political activity, and the demands for autonomy for the Bengali population. And this population gradually gained momentum.
The 1970 Bhola cyclone devastated much of the region, killed an estimated 500,000 people. More than half the city was flooded and millions of people were marooned.^[32] With public anger growing against ethnic discrimination and poor cyclone relief efforts from the central government, Bengali politician Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman held a nationalist gathering on 7 March 1971 at Ramna Racecourse. An estimated one million people attended the gathering, leading to the 26 March declaration of Bangladesh’s independence. In response, the Pakistan Army launched Operation Searchlight, which led to the arrests, torture and killing of thousands of people. After nine months of bloody battle with Indian Army and Mitra Bahini, the Pakistani Army surrendered to the Joint Forces on 16 December marking the end of the independence war of Bangladesh. As the nation’s capital, Dhaka saw a rapid and huge growth of the city population in the post-independence period, as migrant workers from rural areas across Bangladesh moved to the city. The growth of commerce and industry along with the city’s population has created further challenges to the services and infrastructure. A real estate boom has followed the expansion of city limits and the development of new settlements such as Uttara, Mohammadpur, Baridhara, Mirpur and Motijheel.

Civil administration

The Dhaka municipality was founded on 1 August 1864, and upgraded to “corporation” status in 1978.The Dhaka City Corporation is a self-governing corporation which runs the affairs of the city. Recently(i.e. 2011), Dhaka City Corporation has been divided into two administrative parts – these are (1) Dhaka City Corporation-North and (2) Dhaka City Corporation-South – for ensuring better civic facilities. These two corporations are headed by two administrators. The incorporated area is divided into several wards, which have elected commissioners. The Dhaka Education Board is responsible for administering all public schools and most private schools with the exception of English-medium schools and madrassahs. All madrassahs in Bangladesh are governed by a central board while English-medium schools are under separate educational and governance structures.^[49]
The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) was established in 1976 and has 6,000 personnel in 12 police stations. With the rapid growth of the city, the force has been raised to 23,000 personnel and the establishment of 41 police stations has been completed and the creation of another 10 police stations is underway.
The city is divided into 25 (i.e. 2011) parliamentary constituencies. The two main political parties are the Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Ramna contains the Secretariat, which houses most of the government ministries. The Supreme Court of Bangladesh and the Dhaka High Court are located in the city. The Bangabhaban palace has served as the official residence of the Viceroy of India, the governor of East Pakistan and presently the President of Bangladesh.The Jatiyo Sangshad Bhaban, designed by renowned architect Louis Kahn, houses the unicameral national parliament. The Baitul Mukarram, developed with a design resembling the Kaaba of Mecca, is the national mosque.^[53] Other historical monuments in the city include the Bara Katra palace, the Lalbagh Fort, the Hoseni Dalan and the Ahsan Manzil.
To fight rising traffic congestion and population, the national government has recently implemented a policy for rapid urbanization of surrounding areas and beyond by the introduction of a ten-year relief on income tax for new construction of facilities and buildings outside Dhaka.

Economy

Dhaka is the commercial heart of Bangladesh.The city has a growing middle class population, driving the market for modern consumer and luxury goods. The city has historically attracted a large number of migrant workers. Hawkers, peddlers, small shops, rickshaw transport, roadside vendors and stalls employ a large segment of the population— rickshaw-drivers alone number as many as 400,000. Half the workforce is employed in household and unorganised labour, while about 800,000 work in the textile industry. Even so, unemployment remains high at 19%.As of 2009, Dhaka’s Gross Municipal Product (GMP) is registered at $85 billion.With an annual growth rate of 6.2%, the GMP is projected to rise to $215 billion by 2025.The annual per capita income of Dhaka is estimated at $1,350(USD), with 34% of households living below the poverty line,  including a large segment of the population coming from rural areas in search of employment,with most surviving on less than $5 a day.
The main commercial areas of the city include Motijheel, Dilkusha, Paltan, New Market, Shahbag, Gulshan, Mohakhali, Karwan Bazar and Farmgate, while Tejgaon and Hazaribagh are the major industrial areas. Bashundhara-Baridhara is a developing economic area that will include high-tech industries, corporations and a large shopping precinct in about 5 years. The Export Processing Zone in Dhaka was set up to encourage the export of garments, textiles and other goods. Dhaka has two EPZs. They are home to 413 industries, which employ mostly women. The Dhaka Stock Exchange is based in the city, including many large multinationals and BRAC are based in Dhaka. Country’s central bank Bangladesh Bank and Nobel Peace Prize winning organization Grameen Bank have their head-quarters in Dhaka.Urban developments have sparked a widespread construction boom; new high-rise buildings and skyscrapers have changed the city landscape.Growth has been especially strong in the finance, banking, manufacturing, telecommunications and services sectors, while tourism, hotels and restaurants continue as important elements in the economy of Dhaka.

Demographics

The population of Dhaka (areas under the jurisdiction of the Dhaka city corporation) stands at approximately 7.0 million. The city, in combination with localities forming the wider metropolitan area, is home to over 15 million as of 2013. The population is growing by an estimated 4.2% per year, one of the highest rates amongst Asian cities.The continuing growth reflects ongoing migration from rural areas to the Dhaka urban region, which accounted for 60% of the city’s growth in the 1960s and 1970s. More recently, the city’s population has also grown with the expansion of city boundaries, a process that added more than a million people to the city in the 1980s.According to Far Eastern Economic Review, Dhaka will become a home of 25 million people by the year 2025.
The literacy rate in Dhaka is also increasing fairly quickly. It was estimated at 62.3% in 2001. The literacy rate had gone up to 72.7% by 2010 which is significantly higher than the national average of 56.5%.
The city population is composed of people from virtually every region of Bangladesh. The long-standing inhabitants of the old city are known as Dhakaiya and have a distinctive dialect and culture. Between 15,000 to 20,000 of the Rohingya, Santal, Khasi, Garo, Chakma and Mandi tribal peoples reside in the city.Dhaka also has a large population of Chinese, Korean, Indian, Burmese and Nepali expatriates working in different industries, students on SAARC scholarship and volunteer work.
Most residents of Dhaka speak Bengali, the national language. Many distinctive Bengali dialects and regional languages such as Chittagonian and Sylheti are also spoken by segments of the population. English is understood by a large segment of the population, especially for business purposes. There is a minority Urdu-speaking population, who are descendants of displaced Muslims from eastern India during 1947 and sought refuge in East Pakistan. The correct population is ambiguous; although official figures estimate at least 40,000 residents, it is estimated that there are at least 300,000 Urdu-speakers in all of Bangladesh, mostly residing in refugee camps in Dhaka.^[84][85]
Islam is the dominant religion of Dhaka’s people. About 90% of the city practicing the faith of Islam; with a majority belonging to the Sunni sect. There is also a small Shia sect, and an Ahmadiya community. Hinduism is the second-largest religion, with about 9%, and smaller communities practice Buddhism and Christianity, both of about 0.5% each.

Culture

As Dhaka is the most populous city of Bangladesh, it has a vibrant cultural life. For much of recent history, Dhaka was characterised by roadside markets and small shops that sold a wide variety of goods. Recent years have seen the widespread construction of shopping malls, multiplexes, hotels and restaurants attracting Dhaka’s growing middle class and wealthy residents.

Festivals

Annual events and celebrations of Independence Day (26 March), Language Martyrs’ Day (21 February), Victory Day (16 December), Bengali New Year (14 April), Ekushey Book Fair (month of February), the Muslim festivals of Eid ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Adha, and the Hindu festivals including the Durga Puja and Kali Puja feature prominently in the city’s cultural observances, events, and celebrations. Dhaka’s people congregate at the Shaheed Minar and the Jatiyo Smriti Soudho to remember the national heroes of the Bengali Language Movement and the Bangladesh Liberation War. These occasions are observed with public ceremonies and rallies on public grounds. Many schools and colleges organise fairs, festivals and concerts in which citizens from all levels of society participate.
Pohela Baishakh, the Bengali New Year, falls annually on 14 April and is popularly celebrated across the city. Large crowds of people gather on the streets of Shahbag, Ramna Park and the campus of the University of Dhaka for celebrations. The Muslim festivals of Eid ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Adha witness widespread celebrations across the whole city.

Dress

The most popular dressing style for women are shari or shælwar kamij, while men usually prefer western clothing to the traditional lungi. This area is also credited for the revival of the Jamdani due to the many local saree stores selling and promoting these locally hand-made age old traditional Bengali sarees. Jamdanis are 100% hand weaved and originate from the Persian and Mughal era. Jamdanis are produced by a traditional high quality cottage industry, which is slowly dying out due to the slow production process. A single medium range Jamdani saree may take as long as 3 months to complete.^[96]

Education

Dhaka has the largest number of schools, colleges and universities of any Bangladeshi city. The education system is divided into 5 levels: Primary (from grades 1 to 5), Junior (from grades 6 to 8), Secondary (from grades 9 to 10), Higher Secondary (from grades 11 to 12) and tertiary.^[97] The five years of Primary education concludes with a Primary Education Completion (PEC) Examination, the three years of Junior education concludes with Junior School Certificate (JSC) Examination, and next two years of Secondary education concludes with a Secondary School Certificate (SSC) Examination. Students who pass this examination proceed to two years of Higher Secondary or intermediate training, which culminate in a Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSC) Examination. Education is mainly offered in Bangla, but English is also widely taught and used. A large number of Muslim families send their children to attend part-time courses or even to pursue full-time religious education alongside other subjects, which is imparted in Bangla and Arabic in schools, colleges and madrasas.
There are 52 universities in Dhaka. The Dhaka College is the oldest institution of higher education in the city and amongst the earliest established in British India, founded in 1841. Since independence, Dhaka has seen the establishment of a large number of public and private colleges and universities that offer undergraduate and graduate degrees as well as a variety of doctoral programmes. The University of Dhaka is one of the largest public university in the nation with more than 30,000 students and 1,300 faculty staff. It was established in 1921 being the first university in the region. The university has 23 research centres and 70 departments, faculties and institutes. Eminent seats of higher education include Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), Jagannath University and Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University. Dhaka Medical College and Sir Salimullah Medical College are two famous medical colleges in the nation. Dhaka’s college campuses are often hotbeds of political conflicts.Protests and strikes, and violence amongst police, students and political groups frequently disrupt public university campuses.^[103][104]
Alongside public institutes of higher education there are some forty-five private universities in Dhaka. Notable private universities include East West University, North South University, American International University – Bangladesh, BRAC University, United International University, Daffodil International University, World University of Bangladesh, Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology and Independent University, Bangladesh , most of which are located in Mohakhali, Gulshan, Banani, Baridhara, Bashundhara, Uttara and Dhanmondi areas of the city.
The British Council plays an important role helping students to achieve GCSE and A Level qualifications from examination boards in the United Kingdom. This is in addition to holding several examinations for professional bodies in the United Kingdom, including the UK medical Royal Colleges and Accountancy.

Transport

Dhaka is known as the rickshaw capital of the world.Approximately 400,000 rickshaws run each day. Cycle rickshaws and auto rickshaws are the main mode of transport, with close to 400,000 rickshaws running each day – the largest number for any city in the world. However, only about 85,000 rickshaws are licensed by the city government. Relatively low-cost and non-polluting cycle rickshaws, nevertheless, cause traffic congestion and have been banned from many parts of the city. Public buses are operated by the state-run Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) and by private companies and operators.
Scooters, taxis and privately owned automobiles are rapidly becoming popular with the city’s growing middle class. The government has overseen the replacement of two-stroke engine auto rickshaws with “Green auto-rickshaws” locally called CNG auto-rickshaw or Baby-taxi, which run on compressed natural gas.Taxis plying in the Dhaka roads are of two types. Yellow taxis have slightly higher standards in terms of comfort but are more expensive. They are required to have air conditioning; the fleet consists mostly of Toyota Corollas. Blue and black taxis are cheaper and lack air conditioning; the fleet consists mostly of Maruti 800. As of April 2013, some 2,000-2,500 taxis of 11,260 registered ones were operating in the capital.The Government decided to import 5,000 new taxis with the engine capacity of 1,500cc. The government also plans to raise the total number of taxis to 18,000 gradually.
As of 1986, Dhaka has 1,868 kilometres (1,161 mi) of paved roads.^[121] It is connected to the other parts of the country through highway and railway links. Highway links to the Indian cities of Kolkata and Agartala have been established by the BRTC which also runs regular bus services to those cities from Dhaka.
The Kamalapur Railway Station, Airport (Biman Bandar) Railway Station and the Cantonment Railway Station are the main railway stations providing trains on suburban and national routes operated by the state-run Bangladesh Railway. Bangladesh Railway also runs a regular international train service between Dhaka and Kolkata. Since April 2013, Bangladesh Railway has been operating commuter rail service in suburban areas as well as to neighboring Narayanganj city using DEMU trains.^[124]
The Sadarghat Port on the banks of the Buriganga River serves for the transport of goods and passengers upriver and to other ports in Bangladesh.
The Shahjalal International Airport, located 15 km north of Dhaka city centre, is the largest and busiest airport in the nation.It handles 52% of the country’s arrivals and departures. Domestic service flies to Chittagong, Sylhet, Rajshahi, Cox’s Bazar, Jessore, Barisal, Saidpur and international services fly to major cities in Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and Western Europe.
An elevated expressway system is under construction.The Dhaka Elevated Expressway would run from Shahjalal International Airport-Kuril-Banani-Mohakhali-Tejgaon-Saatrasta-Moghbazar Rail Crossing-Khilgaon-Kamalapur-Golapbagh to Dhaka-Chittagong Highway at Kutubkhali Point. A longer second elevated expressway from Airport-Ashulia is currently undergoing feasibility study.
The Dhaka Metro feasibility study has been completed. A 21.5 kilometer, $1.7 Billion Phase 1, metro route is being negotiated by the Government with Japan International Cooperation Agency. The first route will start from Pallabi, northern suburb of Dhaka to Sayedabad, southern section of Dhaka.

Shopping

Shopping in Dhaka is very easy. There are markets in almost every part of Dhaka, where household commodities are available. Shopping malls are also found in every major avenues; some of them are Dhaka New Market, Basundhara City, Rapa plaza, Metro Shopping mall, Concord Twin Tower, BCS Computer City, Navana Tower, Pink city, Mouchak Market, Eastern Plaza, Fortune mall, Eastern plus, Banga Bazar, Razdhani market, Gausia complex, Holland Centre, Suvastu Nazar Valley, Cofidence Tower, Mollah tower, Lutfun tower, Eastern Mallika, Muskut plaza, North Tower, Razlaksmi complex, Multiplan Center and many more. Kudrat E Khuda Avenue (former New Elephant Road), and its surrounding areas are very popular destination for shoppers. Jamuna Future Park is one of biggest shopping mall in the world with 4 million square feet shopping area. Chain shops like Shopno, Agora, Meena Bazar, Nandon, PQS are also found in most of the residential areas of the city.
There are many branches of Aarong around the city where local products including clothings, handicrafts, groceries and home decors are available in a wide range.
Banga Bazar-is the largest garments market in Dhaka. The market is situated near Chankharpur behind the campus of the University of Dhaka. This place is famous for years for garment’s cloths in a reasonable price. It is a favourite shopping place for many foreigners visiting Bangladesh.

Parks and lakes

There are many parks within Dhaka city, including Ramna Park, Suhrawardy Udyan, Shishu Park, National Botanical Garden, Baldha Garden, Chandrima Uddan, Gulshan Park and Dhaka Zoo. There are lakes within city, such as Crescent lake, Dhanmondi lake, Baridhara-Gulshan lake, Banani lake, Uttara lake and Hatirjheel-Begunbari lake.
Hatirjheel-Begunbari is a new place of recreation for city dwellers. Hatirjheel covering 320 acres is transformed into a place of festivity at night but with serenity settling down. Colorful lights illuminating the wide expanse of concrete structures, lake and waterfrontswould take anyone to a world of fantasy. No wonder that within a few days since its inauguration on January 2 it has become a popular spot for city dwellers, who search for peace and beauty in their never-ending struggle in the concrete jungle of Dhaka. Hatirjheel seems to be a picture of Dhaka we could dream of. It is indeed a small piece of the capital that stood aloof from the rest. The sight of its jam-free express roads, uncluttered footpaths, modern bridges, walkways along a lake stretching as far as our eyes can see would compel us to forget the city we hear, see and experience every day. The construction of a theater, park, garden and some other beautification projects has not yet been finished. Once the project is fully functional, the facilities would include an information centre, celebration point, viewing decks, benches at different points, game equipment for children, water taxi terminals and footbridges. Consultants from Civil Engineering Department of BUET and engineers of SWO of Bangladesh Army, Roads and Highways Department, Local Government Engineering Department and Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha have worked hard to turn this project into reality.
Tourist Spots In Dhaka Division:
Inside Dhaka City: Ahsan Manjil – Lalbag Fort – National Museum – Bangabandhu Memorial – Mukti Juddha Museum – Science Museum – Shadhinota Stambha – National Poet’s Graveyard – Suhrawardy Uddyan – National Leader Mausoleum – Banga-Bhaban – Ramna Park – Parliament House – Arts & Crafts Institute – Curzon Hall – Old High Court – 1857 Memorial – National Zoo – Botanical Garden – Baldha Garden – Star Mosque – Baitul Mukarram Mosque – Mosques – Hindu Temples – Churches
Outside Dhaka City: Mosque Of Baba Adam – Sonargaon – National Martyrs Memorial – Bhawal National Park – Jamuna Bridge – Tungipara – Modhupur Picnic Spot – Susang Durgapur – Gajni Parjatan Cen