Dhanmondi Thana

Template:Infobox of upazilas Dhanmondi (Bengali: ধানমন্ডি) is one of the most crowed and planed area in Dhaka city. It origins can be traced back to the late 50's. Initially it started of as a posh residential neighborhood, today it has turned into a miniature city, where one can find everything from hospitals to malls, schools, banks, offices and universities. It should be noted that the former Prime Minister of Bangladesh Shiek Hasina lives in Dhanmondi.

Geography

Dhanmondi is located at 23.7389°N 90.3847°E / 23.7389; 90.3847. It has 33451 units of house hold and total area 9.74 km².

History

Dhanmondi has been traditionally known as an upscale residential area. After the liberation war, it primarily consisted of two storied houses and fostered a quiet neighborhood environment. More recently, migration issues, aggressive real estate business policies, increasing schools and 'shopping malls' have transformed its quiet residential status to that of a more congested, commercial area.

It is in Dhanmondi where the founding father of Bangladesh Sheikh Mujibur Rahman lived and was assassinated along with his entire family in 1975

Features

Dhanmondi nowadays is more of a commercial area than a residential area. Although there is a growing number of apartment complexes replacing the original two-storied houses, there are many non-residential establishments almost on every street, most of which are schools, universities, hospitals, restaurants and shopping centers.

The increasing number of commercial establishments, coupled with the lack of adequate parking facilities have given rise to a tremendous amount of traffic congestion, especially during the mornings and afternoons when children are dropped off and picked up from school, and during the evenings when shoppers from all over Dhaka throng the various shopping centers.

Dhanmondi is well known for its lake. The lakeside walkway is one of the most popular destinations in Dhaka and is usually crowded with people during the evenings. One of the more prominent features of the lakeside walkway is the Rabindra Sharabar, an open air amphitheater near the Road 8 bridge, where dramas, concerts, and various cultural programs are held from time to time by both amateur and well known artistes, especially during major festivals and holidays.

Snack stalls along the lakeside, particularly on Road 2 (opposite the entrance to Bangladesh Rifles), on Road 5 (on an island accessible only by foot bridges from two sides), Road 8 (near the amphitheater) and Road 32 (opposite the residence of Sheikh Mujibir Rahman), offer a variety of tasty and low-cost snacks and beverages, and attract thousands of city dwellers every day.

During festivals such as Pohela Baishaki and the Independence Day and sometimes during Eid moving around Dhanamondi turns out to be near impossible as scores of people crowd the are and put it in a potential dead lock.

Banks

Almost every bank operating in the country has an outlet in Dhanmondi. Foreign banks such as Citi, HSBC and Standard Chartered also have branches here, with HSBC and Standard Chartered having multiple ATM booths within the area.

Educational Institutes

Over the last fifteen years a large number of schools, collages and private universities have been developed around the area. Many of the well known English medium schools in the country, such as South Breeze, Sunbeams, Mastermind, Maple Leaf, Scholastica (Junior Section), Sunnydale etc are located in Dhanmondi. Among the universities, University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh, United International University, Eastern University, The People's University Of Bangladesh, Stamford University and University of Asia Pacific are the most well known.

Restaurants

They are all over the locality be it small or big. As of recently hookah bars are being attached to most restaurants to draw in young crowds. Some prominent restaurant combo hookah bars are Decagon Cafe, B151 Leisure Lounge, D Pavement. All established fast food outlets in the country both local and international chains have outlets in Dhanmondi.

Gallery

• 
  A Nando's outlet on Road 27
• 
  A house beside the Dhanmondi Lake.
• 
  A co-branded Coffee World Pizza Corner outlet on Road 4A
• 
  Pizza Hut on Road 15 (opposite Abahani field).

See also

• Upazilas of Bangladesh
• Districts of Bangladesh
• Divisions of Bangladesh