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=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.

{| class="wikitable"
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|colspan="0"|<div style="font-size:100%">
This article has been extracted from <br/>

THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908.<br/>

OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS.
</div>
|}
[[Category:India|N]]
[[Category:Places|N]]
''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. ''

Narayanganj Town - Revision history

Pdewan: Created page with "=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..."