Rangpur, Bangladesh

Rangpur (Bengali: রংপুর) is one of the major cities in Bangladesh. Rangpur is considered as the centre of northwestern Bangladesh. Recently established public university of Bangladesh named as "Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur" is situated in the southern part of the city. Earlier Rangpur was the headquarter of Greater Rangpur district. Later the Greater Rangpur district was broken down into Rangpur, Kurigram, Nilphamari, Lalmonirhat and Gaibandha districts. As a hub of trade, business and non-governmental organisational activities its influence over the districts under Greater-Dinajpur is also considerable.

Places of interest

• 
  Tajhat Palace (Rangpur Divisional Head Quarter Building and Museum)
• 
  Carmichael College - adjacent to Rangpur University campus.
• 
  Recently renovated front building of Rangpur Zilla School

• Rangpur Divisional Head Quarter Building and Museum- The Divisional Headquarter Office Building at Tajhat, the southern end of Rangpur city. This was the earlier high court building established in 1984 called the Tajhat, a former "rajbari" or zamindar's palace. After the end of the British Raj, the building was abandoned and decayed rapidly, although it was used for a few years as a courthouse during the 1980s. In the year 2004, it was largely restored and turned into a museum which hosts an impressive collection of Blackstone Hindu carvings, calligraphic art from the mughal period, other objets d'art and coins from the area on display. Due to lack of funding, the museum is sometimes closed. The entry fee for non-Bangladeshi tourists is 200 taka.

• Carmichael College is located in the southern part of the city and just a few minutes' drive from Rangpur city centre. It is one of the most important educational institutes in northern part of Bangladesh. It is famous for its lush green campus.

• Established in 1969, "Rangpur Cadet College" is an important educational institute in this city which is situated 5 kilometer far from city at Modern (the then Residential Model School) cross-section.

• Rangpur Zila School is the most famous school in this region of Bangladesh, established more than a century ago. It gained a high reputation. It is located in the Cross-section of 'RDRS, Dhap and Kerani Para' of the city.

• RDRS (Rangpur and Dinajpur Rural Service) Bangladesh [1], an NGO in northwest Bangladesh, has a large office and guesthouse/convention center in the CITY of Rangpur.

• Shyampur: It is a very well known place in Rangpur district under the Badargonj police station. It is very popular for Shyampur Sugar Mills Limited. Here is a chemical industry as well as few cold storage.

Pirgachha: Pirgachha is one of the up zillas in Rangpur that carries some interesting aspects. The name is derived from some unknown "pir"(religious guru), buried under a tree("gach"). In other words, there was this tomb of a "pir" under a big tree in Pirgachha. Pirgachha has a Rajbari, home of the Jomider (barons, if you will, or landlord, appointed by the King at that times). This one historic residence is now almost ruined. Also, there is a minitarure prayer place such as a mosque (for Muslim) and a mondir(for Hindu) built together. It shows a friendly Hindu-Muslim community at those ages. This one is also being ruined everyday.

File:Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur.jpg

Begum Rokeya University administrative Building

File:Rangpur Cadet College.jpg

Rangpur Cadet College

Education

Rangpur is also an important educational center in Bangladesh. Major educational institutes include:

• Rangpur University,
• Rangpur Medical College,
• Rangpur Cadet College,
• Cantonment Public School & College,Rangpur(CPSCR),
• Rangpur Zilla School,
• Rangpur Polytechnic Institute,
• Carmichel College,
• Policelines School & College,
• Colectorate School & College,
• Rangpur Govt. College,
• Begum Rokeya College.

Media

Radio

Bangladesh Betar (Radio Bangladesh) has a regional station in Rangpur which transmits various programs of mass interest. Rangpur station has a broadcasting house and transmitters in different locations.The Rangpur station transmits its programs in Medium Wavelength. The popularity of the radio is low in Rangpur like other places of Bangladesh because of the low quality programmes of Bangladesh Betar.

Television

Bangladesh Television commonly known as BTV, is the national television channel of Bangladesh.Bangladesh Television (BTV) has satellite station in Rangpur.

Newspaper

There are a number of locally published newspapers in the district.Locally published newspapers and periodicals Dabanal (1980, Juger Alo (1992), Dainik Paribesh (1994), Dainik Rangpur (1997), Weekly Atal (1991), Rangpur Barta (1996), Weekly Bajrakantha (Pirganj); extinct- Rangapur Bartabaha (1847), Rangapur Dik Prakash (1861), Rangapur Darpan (1907), Uttar Bangla (1960), Pravati (1955)

Economy

From the ancient time Rangpur is a land of agriculture. Several agricultural products are the major driving power of the economy of this district such as rice, jute (called the golden fiber of Bangladesh), wheat, tobacco, potato etc. During winter season, when ground water level is usually lower than rainy season, peoples use irrigation system to cultivate several high yielding varies of rice to keep the economy strong of this district. Several cold storage are also adding value to the economy of this district by preserving agricultural products especially potato during the hot summer season. The economy of Rangpur city has been developing rapidly which had boosted up the development of the Property Market. Real estate can be bought by foreign investment companies and, within municipal limits, by individuals. The foreign investors may invest through authorized banks, investment funds and organizations in this city. Thus the rapid economic growth in the Rangpur city is helping to contribute to a construction boom in the country. The city is the commercial hub for the surrounding districts. The city centre has number of government and private banks, insurance companies, residential hotels, Chinese and Indian restaurants, fast food, sweet shops, gift shop and many more. It is one of most important economic zone in Bangladesh, because of its global positioning. It is one of the safest and cheapest place to invest. People here work hard. Recently local businessmen started to invest in garment sector, and they have succeeded to capture a good market position in India, Nepal, Bhutan etc. on their own capability, so govt. also started to think about this success and interested to give it full support

Healthcare

The city has many private & government hospitals.Rangpur Medical College Hospital(RMCH) is a tertiary level public hospital with teaching facility in graduate & post graduate medical education.Other than (RMCH) there are children hospital,chest hospital,infectious disease,Sadar hospital run by government.There is a christian missionary hospital in the city area.

Lifestyle

For shopping, there are two large shopping complexes. One is the older "Municipal Super Market", a three-storied building with a variety of small shops selling everything from soap, shoes and clothes to motorcycles, TVs and fans. There is a more modern building called the Jahaj Company Shopping Complex which has Rangpur's only escalator. At the top of this building is a department store, selling a wide assortment of children's toys, Indian kurtas, shalwar kameezes and saris, and other collectibles.

Karupanya is another store on Station Road which sells Rangpur's famous Satranji handloom carpets, which have earned acclaim for their extraordinary aesthetic appeal. The carpets were made in the village of Nishbetganj and were greatly popular in the Mughal era. In fact, it is believed that emperor Akbar used these carpets to adorn his palace in Delhi.

Karupanya was established the cottage industry of Satranji at Nishbetganj village. Starting with just five weavers, he has increased to more than 300 weavers today and is now exporting to foreign countries on a small scale. One can purchase a Satranji carpet at the Karupannya showroom in Rangpur or in Banani, Dhaka.

Transportation

The main transport systems used in the city are Cycle rickshaws, auto rickshaws (mainly known as baby-taxis or CNGs), buses, mini-buses and cars. There are about 50,000 rickshaws running each day.

Bus

Rangpur is well connected by highways and railway links to Chittagong and Dhaka, as well as other parts of Rangpur.It takes about 6 to 7 hours by road to reach the capital, Dhaka from Rangpur. A number of bus services including air-conditioned and non-air conditioned buses are available from and to Dhaka. Bus services to other major districts are also available from Rangpur. Highway links to India have been established through the Asian highway. Many Bus company connect Rangpur to other districts. Some of them are...

• S.R Paribahan,
• Agomony Paribahan,
• Hanif Enterprise,
• Nabil Paribahan,
• T.R Paribahan,
• Greenline,
• B.R.T.C.

Railway

The Rangpur Railway Station is the main railway station providing trains on national routes operated by the state-run Bangladesh Railway.

Air

The city of Rangpur is served by Saidpur Airport, located at the north of the city.Saidpur airport is not an international airport.The main frequent airlines of the airport are, Biman Bangladesh Airlines,United Airways (BD) Ltd.Active routes are Saidpur-Dhaka and Saidpur-Rajshahi.

Notable residents

File:Begum Rokeya shakhawat hussain.jpg

Begum Rokeya

Beveridge in the 1910s

• William Beveridge, British economist who wrote the Beveridge Report that influenced United Kingdom to implement welfare state policies after World War II.
• Begum Rokeya Shakhawat Hossain who was most famous for her efforts

on behalf of gender equality and other social issues.

• Former President Hussein Muhammad Ershad who was Chief of Army

Staff of the Bangladesh Army and then Chief Martial Law Administrator in 1982.

• Reputed Bangladeshi nuclear scientist M. A. Wazed Miah who was

former Chairman of the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission and husband of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

• Poet & writer Anisul Huq.
• Nasir Hossain, prominent Bangladeshi all-round cricketer.

Sister cities

Rangpur is Sister cities with:

• Tartu, Estonia
• Odense, Denmark
• Växjö, Sweden
• Limón, Costa Rica

External links

• Rangpur Municipality, Official website for Rangpur Municipality
• Rangpur oriented website
• Rangpur in Banglapedia, Banglapedia Article on Rangpur District
• Rangpur Web: Social Network, News & Info
• Rangpur Portal
• Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Rangpur" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Unknown parameter |W1EC= ignored (help)