Narayanganj ( bn, নারায়ণগঞ্জ ''Naraeongônj'') is a city in central
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million pe ...
. It is in the
Narayanganj District, about southeast of the capital city of
Dhaka
Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...
, and has a population of about 2 million. It is the 6th largest city in Bangladesh.
It is also a center of business and industry, especially the
jute trade and processing plants, and the textile sector of the country. It is nicknamed the
Dundee of Bangladesh, due to the presence of its many jute mills. (Dundee was the first industrialised 'Juteopolis' in the world.)
History
The city got its name from Bicon Lal Pandey, a
Hindu religious leader who was also known as Benur Thakur or 'Lakhsmi Narayan Thakur'. He leased the area from the
British East India Company in 1766 following the
Battle of Plassey. He donated the markets and the land on the banks of the river as ''Devottor'' or 'Given to God' property, bequeathed for maintenance expenses for the worship of the god
Narayan.
[
]
A post office was set up in 1866, and Dhaka-Narayanganj
telegraph
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...
service was started in 1877. The Bank of Bengal introduced the first telephone service in 1882.
The Narayanganj Municipality was incorporated on 8 September 1876. The first hospital of the area of Narayanganj Victoria Hospital was established in 1885 by the Municipality with financial contributions from Harakanta Banerjee.
Narayanganj City Corporation was established on 5 May 2011, unifying three former municipalities: Narayanganj Municipality,
Siddhirganj Municipality, and Kadam Rasul Municipality.
The mayor of Narayanganj City Corporation (NCC) is
Dr Selina Hayet Ivy. Prior to this, she was the mayor of Narayanganj Municipality.
The tomb of
Ghiyasuddin Azam Shah is also located in Narayanganj which was built in 1410 CE just before his death. Ghiyasuddin Azam Shah was
Sultan of Bengal from 1390 to 1411.
See also
*
Narayanganj High school
*
Narayanganj Bar Academy school
*
Narayanganj Rail Junction
References
External links
Website of Narayanganj City CorporationNarayanganj: Attractive Places
{{Bangladesh cities
Populated places in Dhaka Division