Barisal

Barisal বরিশাল
City
Barishal
From top: City skyline, Guthia Mosque, University of Barisal, Oxford Mission Church, Durga Sagar lake, Barisal Lauch Terminal, Bell's Park aka Bangabandhu Udyan, Barisal Museum, Bibir Pukur, Brojomohun College, and Barisal from sky
Nickname(s):  Venice of the East
Barisal Location of Barisal in Bangladesh Barisal Barisal (Bangladesh) Show map of Barisal divisionShow map of BangladeshShow all
Coordinates: 22°48′0″N 90°30′0″E / 22.80000°N 90.50000°E / 22.80000; 90.50000
Country	Bangladesh
Division	Barisal Division
District	Barisal District
Municipality Eshtablished	1876; 145 years ago (1876)
City Corporation	2002; 19 years ago (2002)
Granted city status	19 April 2001[1]
Government
• Type	Mayor–Council
• Body	Barisal City Corporation
• City Mayor	Serniabat Sadiq Abdullah
Area [2]
• Urban	58 km2 (22 sq mi)
Elevation	1 m (4 ft)
Population  (2011)[3]
• City	328,278
• Density	10,524/km2 (27,260/sq mi)
• Metro	385,093
Time zone	UTC+6 (BST)
Postal code	8200
Calling code	0431
National calling code	+880
Police	Barisal Metropolitan Police
Domestic airport	Barisal Airport
Website	www.barisal.gov.bd

Barisal (/ˌbʌr əˈsɑːl/ or /ˈbær əˌsɔːl/; Bengali: বরিশাল, pronounced [boɾiʃal]),^[a] officially known as Barishal,^[4] is a major city that lies on the banks of the Kirtankhola river in south-central Bangladesh. It is the largest city and the administrative headquarter of both Barisal District^[b] and Barisal Division. It is one of the oldest municipalities and river ports of the country. Barisal municipality was established in the year 1876 during the British rule in India and upgraded to City Corporation on 25 July 2002.^[7] The city consists of 30 wards and 50 mahallas with a population of 328,278 according to the 2011 national census and with the voter of about 2.48 lakhs according to the 2018 voter list of city election. The area of the city is 58 km².^[8]

History[]

Barisal was conquered by Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khalji and was later a significant territory of the Delhi Sultanate and Bengal Sultanate. After the decline of the Suri Empire, the territory became a semi-independent area in the Mughal period because of heavy fighting between the Muslims and Hindu chiefs, although most parts of the city were totally under the control of the governors of the proto-industrialised Bengal Subah. In course of time, it fell under the Bengal Nawabs. Raja Ramranjan Chakravarty was put as a de jure king during the Bengal Presidency of the British, later passed to East Pakistan at independence and finally Bangladesh.

In ancient times, it was called Chandrodip (চন্দ্রদ্বীপ), while furing the Medieval Islamic times it was also known as Ismailpur & Bacola (বাকলা) in Europe. Ralph Fitch, the first ever Englishman, a leather merchant, known to have visited Bengal in the mid 1580s, described Barisal in his journal as, “From Chatigan in Bengal, I came to Bacola; the king whereof is a Gentile, a man very well disposed and delighted much to shoot in a gun. His country is very great and fruitful, and hath store of rice, much cotton cloth, and cloth of silk. The houses are very fair and high built, the streets large, and people naked, except a little cloth about their waist. The women wear a great store of silver hoops about their necks and arms, and their legs are ringed with silver and copper, and rings made from elephants’ teeth.”^[9]

The central city of this region is the city of Barisal. It is one of the biggest river ports in Bangladesh. It is a city with nearly 0.38 million people and a divisional headquarters, medical college, cadet college, some pharmaceutical industries, textile industries and the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority's head office. Barisal is fast growing city of the country stands on the Kirtankhola River. Country's first short landing and take off airport has been completed in Barisal and a private Airlines named Air Bengal has begun its regular air flight between Dhaka Hazrat Shahjalal Airport and Barisal.

The city is called the "Venice of the East" or the "Venice of Bengal"^[10] and the "Paradise of Bengal". "Barisal guns" is a natural phenomenon named after Barisal; it is kind of a booming sound heard near lakes and rivers which is due to seismic activity under water, first heard in this region by the British in the 19th century.

Population[]

Demographics[]

According to provisional results of the 2011 national census, the population of Barisal (areas under the jurisdiction of the Barisal city corporation) stands at 328,278.^[3] By gender, the population was 51.63% male and 48.37% female.^[8]

The literacy rate among the urban people of Barisal is 75.3%,^[11] which is significantly higher than the national average of 56.5%.

Most people in Barisal are Bengalis, as is the case in most of Bangladesh. The long-standing inhabitants of the city are known as Barisaliya and they have a distinctive dialect. Apart from them, the city population is composed of people from neighboring upazilas and districts (Patuakhali, Bhola, Pirojpur, Jhalakati, Barguna).

Languages[]

The following are the four forms of languages spoken in Barisal:

1. Standard Bangla, which is the administrative language and thus mainly used in academia and offices.
2. Barisali dialect, which is commonly spoken by almost all the native peoples of Greater Barisal region (Barisal Division), is considered as a dialect of Bengali which does not have a written form.
3. English, which is used in courts and universities.
4. Marginalised Bengali, a cocktail language of South-Western Bengali dialects spoken by migrant workers such as vendors, service holders, domestic servants, rickshaw peddlers and other menial labourers from different parts of Bangladesh living and working in Barisal.

Religion[]

The majority of Barisal's people are Muslims (89.30%), mainly Sunni Islam Hanafi. Other religious groups include Hindus (9.7%), and very few numbers of other religions, mainly Christians (.98%) and Buddhists (0.01%).^[12]

Since 2015, the Catholic minority has its own Roman Catholic Diocese of Barisal.

Geography[]

Barisal City Areal view

Barisal city occupies an area of 58 km².

Barisal District, with an area of 2790.51 km², is bounded by Madaripur, Shariatpur, Chandpur and Lakshmipur districts on the north, Patuakhali, Barguna and Jhalokati District on the south, Bhola and Lakshmipur districts on the east, Jhalokati, Pirojpur and Gopalganj districts on the west. Several rivers flow across Barisal including the Kirtankhola, Arial Khan, Khoyrabad, Kalijira and Sandha.

Climate[]

Barisal has a tropical wet and dry climate.

Economy[]

Barisal is a rice producing center of Bangladesh. Balam (a kind of basmati) is the most popular rice in Barisal. It is also famous for betel leaf, a typical south Asian chewing item. As Barisal is surrounded by river so fish is plentiful. A Bengali saying states, "Dhan, nadi, khal ai teen e Barisal" which translates to "paddy, river and canal are these three things that make Barisal".

Coconut is a common fruit as the city is located near the coast. Barisal is also known for its hog plum.

Exports: agricultural products, hilsha fish, medicine, empty gelatine capsules, anchor cement.

Points of interest[]

• 

  Durga Sagar in Madhabpasha

• 

  Baitul Aman Jame Masjid Complex

• 

  Shohel Chattar, Bibir Pukur Par

• 

  Padma Pukur, Barisal

• 

  Bell's Park aka Bangabandhu Udyan

• 

  30 Godown Freedom Fighters Monument

• 

  barisal collectorete building

• 

  barisal city at night

• 

  collectorete pond

Durga Sagar: with an area of about 2,500 hectare, is the largest pond or dighi of southern Bangladesh. It is located at Madhabpasa village of babuganj upazila, about 11 km away from Barisal town. Locally it is known as Madhabpasha Dighi. According to a desire of Rani Durgavati, mother of Raja Joynarayan, the dighi was dug in 1780 (1187 BS). There are coconut trees around the dighi which together with the dighi are bounded by brick-walls. In the middle of the dighi, there is an island with bushes. Migratory birds usually come here during winter. The surrounding areas of the dighi has now been turned into a picnic spot. Madhabpasha was a capital of the kingdom of Chandradvipa.

Architecture[]

Miah Bari Mosque in Karapur, Barisal

Barisal's buildings are too diverse to be characterised by any particular architectural style, and have been built over a long period of time.

Some well known heritage buildings are:

Sports[]

Cricket and football are the two most popular sports in Barisal while tennis and kabaddi are also popular. There is a national stadium in the city known as Barisal Divisional Stadium (also known as Abdur Rab Serniabad Stadium). It is a multi-purpose stadium and has a capacity of 15,000 spectators. It is currently used mostly for cricket matches. It is also used for football and other sports. Besides different organization share to stage a show there occasionally. Notable players from Barisal who have played for the national team include Shahriar Nafees, Sohag Gazi, Kamrul Islam Rabbi and Fazle Mahmud.

There is a regional sports training center under Bangladesh Krira Shiksha Pratisthan (BKSP) situated at Rahamatpur in Barisal^[18] Barisal is also home to the Bangladesh Premier League franchise Barisal Bulls.

Transport[]

Air[]

Barisal Airport is a domestic airport. Biman Bangladesh Airlines, Novoair and US-Bangla Airlines use this port. Active air-route is Barisal-Dhaka-Barisal.

River port[]

Barisal River Port is the second largest river port of Bangladesh. It's the most popular way of communication for the people of Barisal to Dhaka, the capital city. It is also a popular transport system with other districts like Bhola, Barguna, Lakshimipur.

Road[]

Barisal is connected to most other regions of the country via the N8 national highway. There are two bus terminals in Barisal, Nathullabad Central Bus terminal and Rupatali Bus Terminal, which connect Barisal to other districts.

Education[]

Cotton Spinning Shed of Shaheed Abdur Rab Serniabat Textile Engineering College Barisal.

Barisal is home to many educational institutions. Govt. Brojomohan College is the oldest institution of higher education in the city, founded in 1889. There is a public university University of Barisal and two private universities, a government medical college Sher-e-Bangla Medical College (SBMC), a textile engineering college Shaheed Abdur Rab Serniabat Textile Engineering College and an engineering college Barisal Engineering College. There are also educational institutions like Barisal Zilla School, Barisal Cadet College, Govt. Syed Hatem Ali College, Government Women's College, Govt. Barisal College, Amrita Lal Dey College, Barisal Govt. Girls High School, Barisal Model School and College and Barisal Asmat Ali Khan Institution (A.K. School). Besides these there are three teacher training colleges, a Government Polytechnic institute, two technical institutes, a homeopathic college and a social welfare training centre. Barisal is under the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Barisal. This board varies the SSC and HSC standard.

Major institutions include:

• Amrita Lal Dey College
• Barisal Cadet College
• Barisal Engineering College
• Barisal Government Women's College
• Barisal Govt. Polytechnic Institute
• Barisal Zilla School
• Brojomohun College
• Government Syed Hatem Ali College
• Shaheed Abdur Rab Serniabat Textile Engineering College
• Sher-e-Bangla Medical College
• University of Barisal

Culture[]

Media[]

Barisal is a center for the newspaper, periodical and book publishers. Some locally published newspapers and periodicals are:

Newspapers[]

Source:^[19]

Periodicals[]

Notable people[]

See also[]

• Barisal City Corporation
• Barisal District
• Barisal Division

Notes[]

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Barishal.

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Barisal.

• Official City of Barisal website

v t Largest cities or towns in Bangladesh Population and Housing Census 2011[1]
	Rank	Name	Division	Pop.	Rank	Name	Division	Pop.
Dhaka Chittagong	1	Dhaka	Dhaka	8,906,039	11	Savar	Dhaka	296,851	Khulna Sylhet
	2	Chittagong	Chittagong	2,592,439	12	Comilla	Chittagong	296,010
	3	Khulna	Khulna	664,728	13	Narayanganj	Dhaka	286,330
	4	Sylhet	Sylhet	531,663	14	Siddhirganj	Dhaka	256,760
	5	Rajshahi	Rajshahi	451,425	15	Jessore	Khulna	237,478
	6	Tongi	Dhaka	406,420	16	Cox's Bazar	Chittagong	223,522
	7	Bogra	Rajshahi	400,983	17	Gazipur	Dhaka	213,061
	8	Mymensingh	Mymensingh	389,918	18	Brahmanbaria	Chittagong	193,814
	9	Barisal	Barisal	339,308	19	Dinajpur	Rangpur	191,329
	10	Rangpur	Rangpur	307,053	20	Narsingdi	Dhaka	185,128

Coordinates: 22°42′N 90°22′E / 22.700°N 90.367°E / 22.700; 90.367