Narayanganj Town
Narayanganj Town, 1908
Head-quarters of the subdivision of the same name in Dacca District. Eastern Bengal and Assam, situated in 23° 37' N. and 90° 30' E., on the west bank of the Lakhya at its confluence with the Dhaleswari just before that river joins the Meghna. The population in 1901 was 24,472, of whom 50-8 per cent, were Hindus and 48-4 Muhammadans ; there were only 169 Christians. Narayanganj is distant from Dacca City 9 miles by land and about 20 by water, and is in reality the port of that city ; it extends for 3 miles along the bank of the Lakhya, and, with its suburb Madanganj on the opposite bank, is the most progressive town in Eastern Bengal. The population has nearly doubled since 1881 ; and had the Census been taken during the rains in the height of the jute season, the number of inhabitants would probably have exceeded 35,000. In the neighbourhood are several forts built by Mir Jumla to repel the invasions of the Maghs or Arakanese, and a mosque known as the Kadam Rasul which is held in great reverence by pious Musalmans. Narayanganj. including Madanganj, was con- stituted a municipality in 1876. The income during the decade ending 1901-2 averaged Rs. 55,000 and the expenditure Rs. 52,000. In T 903-4 the income was Rs. 76,000, including Rs. 38,000 derived from a tax on houses and lands, Rs. 22,000 from a conservancy rate. and Rs. 6,000 from tolls. The incidence of taxation was Rs. 2-1 1- 10 per head of the population. In the same year the expenditure was Rs. 69,000, including Rs. 3,000 spent on lighting, Rs. 3,000 on drainage, Rs. 25,000 on conservancy, Rs. 3,000 on medical relief, Rs. r 6,000 on roads, and Rs. 1,100 on education. Narayanganj has the appearance of a Western rather than of an Eastern town, and has not unjustly been called the model municipality of Bengal. The municipality owns a large market, and a scheme has been formulated for supplying two of the three wards with unfiltered water at an estimated cost of Rs. 1,79,000.
Narayanganj was already a busy market a century ago. Since then its commerce has increased enormously-, owing to the growth of the jute trade and development of rail and steamer communications ; and it is now the busiest trade mart in Eastern Bengal. It taps the huge jute areas of Mymensingh, north Tippera, and Dacca, and focuses the imports from Calcutta for their dense populations. Narayanganj owes its prosperity to its ready access to the seaports. It is connected with C'alcutta by steamer and rail via Goalundo, and with Chittagong by steamer and rail via Chandpur, or by brigs, which, however, are now being ousted by the railway. On account of its trade with Chittagong, Narayanganj has been declared a port under the Sea Customs Act. The expansion of the jute trade is of comparatively recent date ; in 1872 there were only 6 screw-houses in Narayanganj, while in 1901 there were 53 factories with 73 presses, mostly hydraulic, employing 6,000 hands. The annual export has increased from 4o,oo'(b to 320,000 tons during the last thirty years. The jute is pressed into bales for export to Europe, two-thirds of the output being shipped from Calcutta, and one-third from Chittagong.
Narayanganj contains the usual public offices, a sub-jail with accommodation for 36 prisoners, civil courts, a branch of the Bank of Bengal, two higher class English schools, and a hospital with 30 beds.
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
