Jessore District

Jessore (or Jashahor) is a district located in the Khulna Division of southwestern Bangladesh. It is bordered by India to the west.

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

Jessore has eight upazilas, namely Abhaynagar, Bagherpara, Chowgacha, Jessore-Sadar, Jhikargacha, Keshobpur, Monirampur, and Sharsha.

A town called Jessore stands on the Bhairab, and consists of 9 wards and 73 mahalls. Jessore municipality was established in 1864.

History

Jessore district once belonged to the ancient Janapada kingdom of Samatat Janapada. At the time of the partition of India in 1947, Jessore was partially divided. Except for the Bangaon and Gaighata thanas, the entire district became part of East Pakistan.

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 in which about 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 Bangladesh to be liberated from Pakistani forces.

Places to see

Village Rampur has become a tourist attraction for its island-like look surrounded by two rivers, Jhapa Bayor and Khajura Bayor. The Kapatakkha River flows through the area.

At Abhaynagar Upazila, there is a small village called Dhulgram. There was once a magnificent complex of 17 temples here, but now only one remains standing. Most of the temples were submerged into the Bhairab River, which flows by the complex. A beautiful terracotta design can be seen all over the temple. It is considered a very holy place by Bengals.

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 Bhatnagar, Abhaynagar, stands the ruins of an 11 temple complex dedicated to Lord Shiva. Though the central temple is partially destroyed the place still shows the majesty of the glorious past of Bengal.

• Near the town of Jessore, there is a suburb called Chanchra. A Chanchra Rajbari once stood, but it is completely ruined now. However, one can see the Shiv Temple, which is almost restored; The ruined Dosh Mahabidya Temple, which is only piece in Bangladesh, and Jora Shiv Temple at Murali in almost ruined condition.
• There is a historical building named Imam Bara, situated at Murolir Mor beside the Dhaka-Khulna Highway. It was built by Hazi Muhammad Mohsin.
• The Jessore Collectret Building, located in Daratana, is one of the oldest buildings in Jessore.

Sagardari is also 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 and the Kapattakka River is only a block away from his house. Around the house, there are many small shops which usually sell souvenirs.

Demographics

District

• Jessore District has a population of 2,440,693, of which 51.22% are male and 48.78% are female.
• 85.5% of the population are muslims, 14.21% are Hindus and the remaining 0.29% practise another religion.

• The average literacy rate is 33.4% — 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

• 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 (56.57%) is significantly higher than that of the entire district.

Geography

Jessore District encompasses 2578.20 km². It is bounded by Jhenaidaha and Magura districts on the north, Satkhira and Khulna districts on the south, Narail and Khulna districts on the east, and West Bengal of India on the west. Major rivers that flow through this region are the Bhairab and Kapotakhho.

Annual average temperature range from 9~41°C. The annual rainfall is 1537 mm.

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

upazila	population		upazila	population
Ubhaynagar	245000		Keshabpur	200229
Bagherpara	168938		Jessore Sadar	530582
Chaugachha	181829		Manirampur	326093
Jhikargacha	235882		Sharsha	258789

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

Transport

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, with Jessore falling about halfway down 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 like GMG Airlines, United Airways and Royal Bengal Airlines for domestic flights.

Notable Educational Institutions

• Jessore Polytechnic Institute
• BAF Shaheen College
• Jessore Cantoment College
• Michael Modhushudon (MM) College
• Dawood Public School
• Jessore Rifles School
• Jessore Science and Technology University
• Jessore Zilla School
• Police Line School
• Government Girls' High School, Jessore
• Sacred Heart School
• Hashim pur High School
• Talbaria Degree College
• Matikumra High School
• Navarn Degree College
• Backra Degree College
• Backra High School
• Jhikargacha Pailot High School
• Jhikargacha B.M High School
• Jhikargacha Degree College
• Akij Collegiate School
• DR Abdur Razzak Munichipal college
• Biman bondor biddly Jessore
• Hamidpur Al Hera Degree College
• Bir Pratik Ishak College.

Great Personalities

The great poet and damatist Michael Madhusudan Datta, The great philanthropist and educationist Mahendra Lal Bose, the great actor Dhiraj Bhattacharya and the Indian noveist Manishankar Mukherjee (Shankar) were born in this district.

See also

• Districts of Bangladesh
• Khulna Division
• [http//www.jessore.info]
• Radio Jessore is the 24/7 live internet radio in Bangladesh in its kind, is broadcasting 24 hours live program on Internet.
• Jessore24 Jessore Sobsomy

External links

• Banglapedia: Jessore (including map)