Sonahat is an
inland port
An inland port is a port on an inland waterway, such as a river, lake, or canal, which may or may not be connected to the sea. The term "inland port" is also used to refer to a dry port.
Examples
The United States Army Corps of Engineers publ ...
in the
Bhurungamari Upazila
Bhurungamari ( bn, ভুরুঙ্গামারী) is the northernmost upazila of Kurigram District in the Division of Rangpur, Bangladesh.
Geography
Bhurungamari is located at . It has 33,984 households and total area 236 km2.
Dem ...
in the
Kurigram District Kurigram District ( bn, কুড়িগ্রাম) is a district of Bangladesh in the Rangpur Division. The district is located in northern Bangladesh along the country's border with India. Under Indian rule, the area was organized as a mahakum ...
of the
Rangpur Division
Rangpur Division ( bn, রংপুর বিভাগ) is one of the Divisions in Bangladesh. It was formed on 25 January 2010, as Bangladesh's 7th division. Before that, it was under Rajshahi Division. The Rangpur division consists of eight di ...
in
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
.
Railway links
During the British era, there was a railway line linking Assam with Bengal that passed through Sonahat. The place was familiar as the entry gate of Assam. The rail link was closed after the
partition of India
The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...
in 1947.
Possibilities of resumption of traffic through the Bhurugamari-Sonahat section was discussed when the resumption of rail traffic between India and Pakistan took place in 1955.
Prior to the partition of India, the prestigious
Assam Mail used to travel from
Santahar
Santahar ( bn, সান্তাহার) is a railway junction in Adamdighi Upazila in Bogra District of Rajshahi Division in Bangladesh.
History
From 1878, the railway route from Kolkata, then called Calcutta, to Siliguri was in two laps. T ...
to
Guwahati
Guwahati (, ; formerly rendered Gauhati, ) is the biggest city of the Indian state of Assam and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the ...
.
Developments
There is a bridge across the Dudhkumar River (official name: Bongo Sonahat bridge, local name: Pateshwary bridge). It was built in 1887 as a railway bridge, with a single lane. It was closed in 1947.
In 2018, the existing road bridge across the Dudhkumar River was found to be weak and a new bridge was sanctioned, along with a new highway. The Kurigram (Daserhat)-Nageshwari-Bhurungamari-Sonahat Land port road is to be converted to a national highway.
[
All kinds of export-import activities at Sonahat was stopped for 75 days from 25 March 2020 because of Coronavirus.
Note: The map alongside presents the position as it stands today (2020). The international border was not there when the railways were first laid in the area in the 19th-20th century. It came up in 1947. Since then, it has been an effort to live up to the new realities. The map is 'interactive' (the larger version) - it means that all the places shown in the map are linked in the full screen map.
]
Education
Sonahat Degree College is located near Sonahat Landport.
References
External links
{{India-Bangladesh land border checkpoints
Bangladesh–India border crossings