Nilphamari District

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Nilphamari
নীলফামারী
District
Nilphamari
229
Nilphamari District
Nickname(s): 
Country of NIL (Blue)
Location of Nilphamari District in Bangladesh
Location of Nilphamari District in Bangladesh
Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap
Expandable map of Nilphamari District
Coordinates: 25°57′N 88°57′E / 25.95°N 88.95°E / 25.95; 88.95Coordinates: 25°57′N 88°57′E / 25.95°N 88.95°E / 25.95; 88.95
Country Bangladesh
DivisionRangpur Division
Government
 • Deputy CommissionerMd. Hafizur Rahman Chowdhury
 • District Council ChairmanMd. Joynal Abedin [1]
 • Chief Executive OfficerMd. Hafizur Rahman Chowdhury
Area
 • District1,580.85 km2 (610.37 sq mi)
 • Urban
114.76 km2 (44.31 sq mi)
Population
 (2011 census)
 • District1,907,497
 • Density1,200/km2 (3,100/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+06:00 (BST)
Postal code
5300
HDI (2018)0.614[2]
medium · 7th of 21
Websitenilphamari.gov.bd

Nilphamari (Bengali: নীলফামারী জেলা, Nilphamari Jela also Nilphamari Zila) is a district in Northern Bangladesh. It is a part of the Rangpur Division. It is about 400 kilometres to the northwest of the capital Dhaka. It has an area of 1,580.85 square kilometres (610.37 sq mi). Nilphamari is bounded by Rangpur and Lalmonirhat in east, Rangpur and Dinajpur in south, Dinajpur and Panchagarh in west, Cooch Behar of India in north.[3] There are many rivers in Nilphamari including the Tista, Buritista, Isamoti, Jamuneshwari, Dhum, Kumlai, Charalkata, Sorbomongola, Salki, Chikli, Chara and Deonai. There are four Municipal Corporation in Nilphamari district. Area of these Municipalities are Nilphamari 42.70 SqKm(27.50 SqKm Present, 15.20 SqKm Ongoing), Saidpur-34.42 SqKm, Jaldhaka-28.22 SqKm and Domar-9.421 SqKm. There are 60(sixty) Unions, 370 Moujas and 378 Village in Nilphamari district.[4]

Etymology[]

About 200 years ago, the British established farms for cultivating indigo (nil). The soil of this area was very fertile for indigo cultivation. As a result, a lot of nil kuthi and nil khamar (farm) were built here compared to the other districts. It is widely believed that the term "nil khamari" was derived from "nil khamar" by the local farmers. And then the word "Nilphamari" was derived from "Nil khamari".[5]

Religion in Nilphamari as of 2011.

  Muslim (82.84%)
  Hindu (17.18%)
  Christians (0.07%)
  Buddhists (0.02%)
  Other (-0.11%)

History[]

Nilphamari was previously under the Rajshahi division. The Nilphamari subdivision was established in 1875.[6] It was a subdivision of the Rangpur District. It was turned into a district in 1984. The district consists of 6 upazilas, 4 municipalities, 60 union parishads, 370 mouzas and 378 villages.

Historical speciality[]

The historical Tebhaga movement spread over Domar and Dimla of this district in the 1940s. Indigo used to be cultivated extensively in this district. Saidpur is best known for its railway workshop. In 1870, the Assam-Bengal railway set up its largest workshop in Saidpur and many Biharis or Urdu-speakers came to work there. During the British rule the telephone exchange for the whole Assam-Bengal District was also situated in Saidpur, and it was the third-largest city of Bangladesh after Dhaka and Chittagong. Saidpur had the first airport in North Bengal. There was also a cantonment during the British period.[7]

Administration[]

Upazila (subdistrict) Area (SQKM) Population Male Female
Nilphamari Sadar (Bengali: নীলফামারী সদর) 373.09 435,165 219,080 216,082
Saidpur Upazila (Bengali: সৈয়দপুর alt. spelling: Syedpur) 121.68 265,461 134,737 131,724
Jaldhaka (Bengali: জলঢাকা) 303.52 341,672 171,466 169,206
Kishoreganj (Bengali: কিশোরগঞ্জ) 204.91 261,069 130,931 130,138
Domar (Bengali: ডোমার) 250.86 249,429 125,338 124,091
Dimla (Bengali: ডিমলা) 326.80 283,438 142,412 141,026
Total 1580.85 1,834,231 922,964 911,267

Source: Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (Census 2011).[8]

Economy[]

Nilphamari is the main industrial centre of Rangpur Division. Apart from Uttara EPZ, Many Government and private industry situated here. Electricity has reached to almost every households. As of 2021, 100% people of this district get electricity. There are two(Jaldhaka and Saidpur) 132/33 KV Power Grid (National Power Grid-PGCB) Substation situated in Nilphamari. There is also a power plant in Saidpur of Nilphamari supplying 20 MW to National Power Grid-PGCB. Nilphamari Palli Bidyut Samity, a subsidary of the people of Nilphamari supplies power to rural areas of the district. NESCO a Subsidary Company of BPDB supplies power in urban areas and Bazars. Nilphamari has an agriculture-based economy. Nilphamari produces rice, wheat, potato, tobacco, and many seasonal crops. The major occupation of the people is farming. Among the working population 45.28% are farmers, 27.81% are farm labourers, 3.42% are daily workers, 8.65% are businessmen, 6.07% are government and non-government employers, 8.77% have other occupations.[9]

Places of interest[]

Nilsagor dighi.jpg
  • Nilsagar Nilphamari: Nilsagar a historical dighi (big pond) which stands at Dhobadanga mauza of Gorgram union about 14 km southwest of Nilphamari district headquarters. During the reign of Raja Birat, there were many cow farms at Gorgram. Raja Birat dug a large dighi named Birat Dighi or Birna Dighi or Binna Dighi for the cows. After the independence of Bangladesh, the dighi was renamed as Nilsagar. A Hindu mandir stands on the east bank and an abode of a Muslim darvesh on the west bank of the dighi. The area of the dighi is 21.449 ha and depth ranges from 7m to 12m. The entire dighi is surrounded by brick walls. The main decorated ghat of the dighi was made by Raja Birat. Every year the banks of the dighi are used as a village fair site especially during the Baruni Snan festival of the full moon in the month of Baisakh. The Harikirtan singers usually play music during the fair, with many kinds of kirtan songs. Every year many tourists and various kinds of migratory birds come here. It is well known as a recreation zone and a picnic spot.[10]
  • The palace of Raja Harish Chandra (ninth century)
  • Garh (Fort) of Raja Dharmapal and his palace (eighteenth century)
  • Three domed Jami Mosque at Bherberi (eighteenth century)
  • Tomb of Hazrat Pir Mohiuddin (Kundupukur)
  • Dimla Rajbari[11]
  • Saidpur Airport
  • Uttara Export Processing Zone
  • Teesta Barrage
  • Saidpur Church (1893)
  • Nat Settlement (prison, 1871)
  • Leprosy Hospital[7]
  • Chini Mosque

Education[]

The literacy rate of Nilphamari is 49.69% according to the 2011 consensus. There are 940 primary schools, 295 high schools, 95 colleges, 1 medical college, 2 government and 17 non-government technical institutes, 1 P.T.I., 115 dakhil madrasas, 24 alim madrasas, 14 fajil madrasas and one kamil madrasa in Nilphamari.

  • Nilphamari Medical College
  • Nilphamari Government College
  • Bangladesh Army University of Science and Technology, Saidpur, Nilphamari
  • Nilphamari Government Mohila College
  • Nilphamari Government High School
  • Nilphamari Government Girls' School
  • Nilphamari Technical School and College
  • Nilphamari Teachers Training College
  • Collectorate Public School & College, Nilphamari
  • Nilphamari Model College, Nilphamari
  • Saidpur Science School & College, Nilphamari
  • Saidpur Cant Public School & College, Nilphamari
  • Domar Government College
  • Domar ML High School
  • Domar Women College
  • Domar Government Girls' School
  • Domar Balika Nikaton School
  • Domar Shohid Smrity Government Primary School
  • Saidpur College
  • Sonaray High School
  • Sonaray Dristi Nondon Govt. Primary School
  • Chhitmirganj Shalongram Fazil Madrasah

Place to visit[]

Nilsagar[]

Nilsagar a famous historical dighi (big pond) that stands at Dhobadanga mauza of Gorgram union about 14 km southwest of Nilphamari district headquarters. During the reign of Raja Birat there were many cow farms at Gorgram. Raja Birat dug a large dighi named as Birat Dighi or Birna Dighi or Binna Dighi for the cows. After the independence of Bangladesh, the dighi was renamed as Nilsagar. A Hindu mandir stands on the east bank and an abode of a Muslim darvesh on the west bank of the dighi. The area of the dighi is 21.449 ha and depth ranges from 7m to 12m. The entire dighi is surrounded by brick walls. The main decorated ghat of the dighi was made by Raja Birat. Every year the banks of the dighi are used as a village fair site especially during the occasion of Baruni Snan festival in the full moon of the month of Baisakh. Usually, in the fair the Harikirtan singers play music with many kinds of kirtan songs. Every year many tourists and various kinds of migratory birds come here. It is well known as a recreation zone and a picnic spot.

Transportation[]

Nilphamari district is connected with Dhaka by bus, train and air. Trains available in Nilphamari are Nilsagar Express (Dhaka), Barendro Express (Rajshahi), Titumir Express (Rajshahi), Rupsha Express (Khulna) and Simanto Express (Khulna). Major bus services are Greenline, Nabil, Shyamoli, Hanif, S.A. Travels, and BRTC. There is an airport at Saidpur, about 20 km from Nilphamari district town.[12]

Demographics[]

The population of Nilphamari district is 1,907,497. The male population is 959,857 and the female population is 947,640. The density of population is 1215 per km2. 82.84% of the total population are Muslims, 17.18% are Hindus, 0.07% are Christians, 0.02% are Buddhists and 0.1% are others.[9]

Notable people[]

References[]

  1. ^ zpnilphamari.gov.bd/Officers-&-Office-Staffs/
  2. ^ "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 2020-03-18.
  3. ^ "নীলফামারী" Retrieved 26 February 2013
  4. ^ {{http://www.nilphamari.gov.bd/site/page/30dcf1d3-18fd-11e7-9461-286ed488c766/%E0%A6%A8%E0%A6%A6-%E0%A6%A8%E0%A6%A6%E0%A7%80%7Ctitle=Rivers of Nilphamari|website=Bangladesh national portal|http://nilphamarisadar.nilphamari.gov.bd/site/page/396f3c29-18fd-11e7-9461-286ed488c766/%E0%A6%8F%E0%A6%95%20%E0%A6%A8%E0%A6%9C%E0%A6%B0%E0%A7%87%20%E0%A6%AA%E0%A7%8C%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%B8%E0%A6%AD%E0%A6%BE%7Chttp://www.nilphamari.gov.bd/site/page/30dcdbf3-18fd-11e7-9461-286ed488c766/%E0%A6%8F%E0%A6%95%20%E0%A6%A8%E0%A6%9C%E0%A6%B0%E0%A7%87%20%E0%A6%A8%E0%A7%80%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%AB%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%AE%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B0%E0%A7%80%20%E0%A6%9C%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%BE%7C}}
  5. ^ "Background of Nilphamari". Bangladesh national portal.
  6. ^ Abdus Sattar (2012). "Nilphamari District". In Sirajul Islam and Ahmed A. Jamal (ed.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b "bangladeshtalks.com" Retrieved 26 February 2013.
  8. ^ "District Statistics". Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 2019-05-02.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b {{|http://www.nilphamari.gov.bd/site/page/30dcdbf3-18fd-11e7-9461-286ed488c766/%E0%A6%8F%E0%A6%95%20%E0%A6%A8%E0%A6%9C%E0%A6%B0%E0%A7%87%20%E0%A6%A8%E0%A7%80%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%AB%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%AE%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B0%E0%A7%80%20%E0%A6%9C%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%BE%7Ctitle=Nilphamari at a glance|website=Bangladesh national portal| |"National Power Grid-PGCB"http://www.pgcb.gov.bd%7C |"Nilphamari PBS"http://www.pbs.nilphamari.gov.bd%7C |"NESCO"http://www.nesco.gov.bd%7C}}
  10. ^ Nilsagar from Banglapedia Retrieved 6 December 2014
  11. ^ Dimla in Banglapidea Retrieved 6 December 2014
  12. ^ "Transport system of Nilphamari". Bangladesh National portal.
  13. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "Notable persons of Nilphamari". Bangladesh national portal.
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