Jessore District

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2008)
Jessore
যশোহর
—  District  —
Central Jessore Town
Central Jessore Town
Location of Jessore in Bangladesh
Jessore District is located in Bangladesh
Jessore
Location of Jessore in Bangladesh
Coordinates: 23°10′N 89°12′E / 23.17°N 89.20°E / 23.17; 89.20Coordinates: 23°10′N 89°12′E / 23.17°N 89.20°E / 23.17; 89.20
Country  Bangladesh
Division Khulna Division
Area
 • Total 2,606.94 km2 (1,006.55 sq mi)
Elevation 7 m (23 ft)
Population (2011 Census)
 • Total 2,764,547
 • Density Bad rounding here1,100/km2 (Bad rounding here2,700/sq mi)
Literacy rate
 • Total 52.5%
Time zone BST (UTC+6)
 • Summer (DST) BDST (UTC+7)
Postal code 7400
Website Banglapedia Article

Jessore (Bengali: যশোর or Bengali: যশোহর) is a district located in the Khulna Division of southwestern Bangladesh. It is bordered by India to the west.[1]

The district produces a variety of crops year-round. Date-sugar, called patali, is made from the sap of locally grown date trees. It is cooked, thickened and crystallised using a traditional method. Patali is mainly produced in Khajura, but many date trees are cultivated in the Keshabpur Upazila and Manirampur Upazila areas.

Jessore district was established in 1781. It consists of 4 municipalities, 36 wards, 8 upazilas, 92 unions, 1329 mouzas, 1434 villages and 120 mahallas. Upazilas are: Abhaynagar Upazila, Bagherpara Upazila, Chaugachha Upazila, Jessore Sadar Upazila, Jhikargachha Upazila, Keshabpur Upazila, Manirampur Upazila, and Sharsha Upazila.

Jessore town consists of 9 wards and 73 mahalls. Jessore municipality was established in 1864. The area of the town is 25.72 km2. The town has a population of 201,796 at the 2011 Census. The Literacy rate among the town people is 56.57% in 1991. The town has one dakbungalow.

Contents

History [edit]

Jessore is a kingdom and Raja Pratapaditya is the king of the Jessore kingdom. Jessore district once belonged to the ancient Janapada kingdom of Samatat Janapada. At the time of 1947, Jessore was partially divided. Except for the Bangaon and Gaighata thanas, the entire district became part of East Bengal.

The Bengali soldiers stationed at Jessore cantonment mutinied against the Pakistan Army on 29 March 1971. They were led by Captain Hafiz Uddin and Lieutenant Anwar in an uprising where 300 soldiers were killed. The rebels killed 50 Pakistani soldiers with machine gun fire at Chanchara.

On 7 December 1971, Jessore became the first district of Bengal to be liberated from Pakistani forces.

Places to see [edit]

Village Balia Vakutia is famous for its small weaving industry (loom), where shaari, loongi, gamchha etc. clothes are produced. Village Rampur has become a tourist attraction for its island like look surrounded by two rivers, Jhapa Bayor and Khajura Bayor. The Kopotak-kho River flows through the area.

At Abhaynagar Upazila, there is a small village called Dhoolgraam. It once had a magnificent complex of 17 Hindu temples, but only one remains today. Most of the temples were destroyed by the Bhairab River. A beautiful terracotta design can be seen all over the temple. It is considered a very holy place by Bengali Hindus.

The main gate of the house of Michael Madhusudan Dutta at Sagardari village in Jessore. This house is currently being used as a museum.

In Vaatnogor at Abhaynagar Upazila, ruins of eleven temple complex, dedicated to Lord Shiva, remains. Though the central temple is partially destroyed, the site still shows the majesty of Bengal's glorious past.

  • Near the town of Jessore is the suburb Chanchra. A Chanchra Rajbari once stood, but has deteriorated. Visitors can see the Lord Shiva Temple, which is almost restored; the remains of the Dosh Mohabid-da Temple, unique in Bengal, and Jora Shiv Temple at Murali in a deteriorated condition.
  • Imam Bara, situated at Murolir Mor beside the Dhaka-Khulna Highway, is a historical building constructed by Hazi Muhammad Mohsin.
  • The Jessore Collectorate Building, located in Doratana, is one of the oldest buildings in Jessore.

Shaagordaari is the birthplace of the poet Michael Madhusudan Dutta. His large villa consists of a huge garden, a small museum and houses. The front gate of the house has a solid sculpture work. The Kopotak-kho River is at a stone throw distance. Near Jessore Sadar Upazila village Hamidpur has an ancient mosque, known as "Shani mosque." It is an example of the high architecture of Muslim Sultani period.

Demographics [edit]

District [edit]

  • Jessore District had a population of 2,764,547 at the 2011 Census.
  • 85.5% of the population are muslims, 14.21% are Hindus and the remaining 0.29% practise another religion. Religious institutions included 3928 mosques, 463 temples, 86 churches and 17 Buddhist temples.
  • The average literacy rate is 45.2% — very low compared to the rest of the world, but average in Bangladesh. 41% of males are literate, while only 25.1% of females are.
  • The main occupations are: agriculture 39.84%, agricultural labourer 24.13%, wage labourer 2.68%, commerce 11.99%, service 8.66%, industry 1.41%, transport 3.11% and others 8.18%.

The main crops : paddy, jute, sugarcane, tuberose, vegetables. Main fruits are date, jackfruit, papaya, banana, litchi and coconut. Main exports are cotton, jute, leather, jackfruit, banana, comb and date molasses, and vegetables.

Jessore is also the place for growing various types of flowers.

Town [edit]

  • The town area is almost 64 km²;
  • The town of Jessore has a population almost half of that of the entire district's — 1,178,273, of which 52.97% are male and 47.03% are female.
  • The literacy rate amongst townspeople (68.57%) is significantly higher than that of the entire district.

Jessore District encompasses 2606.98 km². It is bounded by Jhenaidaha and Magura districts at the north, Satkhira and Khulna districts at the south, Narail and Khulna districts at the east, and West Bengal of India at the west. Major rivers that flow through this region are the Voyirob and Kopotak-kho.

Annual average temperature range from 9 to 41 °C (48 to 106 °F). The annual rainfall is 1,537 millimetres (60.5 in).

Jessore District's administrative framework was established in 1781. It consists of the following eight Upazilas (data from Banglapedia):

Upazila Area in
sq.km		 2011 Census
population		 Upazila Area in
sq.km		 2011 Census
population
Abhaynagar Upazila 247.21 262,434 Keshabpur Upazila 258.44 253,291
Bagherpara Upazila 308.29 216,897 Jessore Sadar Upazila 435.22 742,898
Chaugachha Upazila 269.31 231,370 Manirampur Upazila 444.20 417,421
Jhikargachha Upazila 307.96 298,908 Sharsha Upazila 336.28 341,328

The upazilas are further divided into 4 municipalities, 36 wards, 92 unions, 1329 mouzas, 1434 villages and 120 mahallas.

Transport [edit]

Jessore has communication links with nearby districts. It has highways for transportation to both Bangladesh and India.

Jessore is a junction on the broad gauge-based network of the Western Bangladesh Railway. The network has links extended into Indian territory. Service linking the capital Dhaka and the Indian city Kolkata is to start April 2008. Jessore is about midway along the route.

The Jessore Airport, located near the Jessore city, is an airbase for the Bangladesh Air Force. Alongside military service, its runways cater to some commercial airlines, such as GMG Airlines, United Airways and Royal Bengal Airlines, for domestic flights.

Notable educational institutions [edit]

Notable natives and residents [edit]

  • Michael Madhusudan Datta - Poet and Dramatist
  • Mahendra Lal Bose - Philanthropist and Educationist
  • Moshiur Rahman - The highest-ranked political leader of the Bangladesh independence movement; he was assassinated by Pakistani occupying forces. He was the closest disciple of Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, a founding member of Awami League, Member of the Parliament, Minister of Law and Justice, Freedom fighter against the British occupation of India, leading voice in Bangla Language Movement, and a lawyer.
  • Muhammad Jalal Uddin- Freedom Fighter and History Writer.
  • Shahid Abul Hossain, District Adjutant, Ansars, Jessore - Address: Sastitola Para, Jessore -Freedom Fighter.
  • N N Begum, Shastitala Para, Jessore, wife of Shahid Abul Hossain.
  • S M Babar, freedom fighter.
  • Advocate Mosharraf Hosain, Founder member of JSD
  • Robiul Alam, First upazilla Chairman of Jessore Sadar
  • Ali Reza Razu, Ex MP
  • Tariqul Islam, BNP minister
  • Adv. Nurul Islam, MP
  • Khaledur Rahman Tito
  • Rowshon Ali, a veteran AL leader and MP for many times
  • Late A.S.H.K. Sadeque, Former education minister and MP, Keshabpur

See also [edit]

Jessore District Portals [edit]

Jessore District Portals Maintained By Deputy Commissioner http://www.dcjessore.gov.bd/

  1. ^ "Jessore: Free Encyclopedia Articles at Questia.com Online Library". www.questia.com. Retrieved 2008-06-26. 

External links [edit]

Cities of Bangladesh
Bangladesh Divisions and districts of Bangladesh
Barisal Division
Divisions of Bangladesh
Chittagong Division
Dhaka Division
Khulna Division
Rajshahi Division
Rangpur Division
Sylhet Division
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jessore_District&oldid=556062255"