Profiles of Districts 1. Name of district: Dhaka 2. Profile of the district: a. Governance or political structure Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and is known as the city of mosques. Dhaka district is situated almost at the middle place of the country. Dhaka (city) stands on the bank of the river Buriganga. Dhaka district is surrounded on the north by Gazipur and Tangail districts, on the east by Narayanganj district, on the south by Munshinganj and Faridpur districts and on the west by Manikganj district. It lies between 23º53' and 24º06' north latitudes and between 90º01' and 90º37' east longitudes. The total area of the district is 1463.60 sq. km. (565.00 sq. miles). Dhaka district was established in 1772. The district consists of 6 upazila and 41 thanas, 86 unions, 974 mauzas, 1999 villages, 2 city corporations, 92 city wards, 855 city mahallas, 3 paurashavas, 27 wards and 133 mahallas. The upazilas are Dhamrai, Dohar, Keraniganj, Nawabganj and Savar. It consists of forty one thanas namely Adabor, Gulshan, New Market, Badda, Pallabi, Hazaribag, Bimanbandar, Cantonment, Demra, Dhanmondi, Kafrul, Kamrangir Char, Khilgaon, Sutrapur, Tejgaon, Shyampur, Kotwali, Lalbagh, Mirpur, Mohammadpur, Motijheel, Uttara, Ramna, Sabujbagh, Bangshal, Chak Bazar, Dakshinkhan, Darus Salam, Gendaria, Jatrabari, Kadamtali, Kalabagan, Khilkhet, Paltan, Rampura, Shah Ali, Shahbagh, Sher-E-Bangla Nagar, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Turag and Uttar Khan with 20 national parliament constituency. Rural Area: It refers to the following five lower geographic, administrative or revenue units: 1) Union: Smallest administrative rural geographic unit comprising of mauzas and villages and having union parishad institution. 2) Mauza: Mauza is the lowest administrative unit having a separate jurisdiction list number (J.L. No.) in revenue records. Every mauza has its well-demarcated cadastral map. Mauza should be distinguished from local village since a mauza may consist of one or more villages. 3) Village: Lowest rural geographic unit either equivalent to a mauza or part of a mauza. 4) Ward: Smallest administrative urban geographic unit comprising of mahallas and having ward council institution. 5) Mahalla: Lowest urban geographic unit having identifiable boundaries. Urban Area: It corresponds with area developed around a central place having such amenities as metaled roads, improved communication, electricity, gas, water supply, sewerage, sanitation and also having comparatively higher density of population with majority population in non-agricultural occupations. 1. City Corporation: It includes city corporation area declared by the Ministry of Local Government. 2. Paurashava/Municipality Area: It includes paurashavas incorporated and administered by local government under Paurashava Ordinance, 1977. b. Economy Economy of Dhaka largely depends on Industrialization. Ceramic industry, beverage industry, press and publication, garments industry, foot ware, jute mills, textile mills, printing and dying factory, transformer industry, automobile industry, biscuit and bread factory, pharmaceutical industry, cosmetic industry, soap factory, rice mill, flour mill, ice factory, ball pen industry, polythene industry, saw mill, brick field, cold storage, welling, plant nursery, etc are main sectors of manufacturing industries of this district c. People’s demographics: Culture, religion, economic status, skills, education, etc. Demography: a) Dhaka City Corporation The Dhaka Municipality was established in 1864. It was constituted as Municipal Committee in 1960 in pursuance of the Basic Democracies Order introduced in 1959. The Municipal Committee was reconstituted as Paurashava in 1972 according to the Bangladesh Local Councils and Municipal Committees (Amendment) Order, 1972. In 1983, it was replaced as Dhaka Municipal Corporation and finally in 1991 it got the status of a city corporation. Dhaka City Corporation is the largest local government unit of Bangladesh. It covers a total area of 126.34 sq.km. The total population of the city corporation as enumerated in 2011 census is 6970105 of which 3876586 are males and 3093519 are 2 females. The literacy rate of the city corporation is 74.6%. It consists of 37 thanas and 92 wards. from table 4.2.87. (Source: BBS, 2011) b) Savar Savar is the most populous city of Dhaka Zila, came into existence in 1991 as a paurashava. Savar city consists of a paurshava with 9 wards and 56 mahallas. The entire city area is under paurashava . The total population of the city is 296851 of which 157018 are males and 139833 are females with a density of 21924 persons per sq.km. The sex ratio of the city is 112 and the literacy rate (7 years and above) is 74.9 %. The total number of households of the city is 75902. (Source: BBS, 2011) c) Dhamrai Paurashava Dhamrai is a newly created paurashava of Dhaka Zila. It was established in 1999 with an area of 6.98 sq.km. The total population of the paurashava as enumerated in 2011 census is 56777 of which 28986 are males and 27791 are females. The literacy rate of the paurashava is 66.7%. It consists of 9 wards and 44 mahallahs. Main features of the paurashava can be seen from table 4.2.86. (Source: BBS, 2011) d) Dohar Upazilla Dohar Paurashava was established in 2000. It has an area of 11.28 sq.km. The total population of the paurashava as enumerated in 2011 census is 36434 of which 17735 are males and 18699 are females. The literacy rate of the paurashava is 61.5%. It consists of 9 wards and 26 mahallahs. (Source: BBS, 2011) e) Nawabganj Upazilla Nawabganj Thana was formed in 1874 and it was turned into an upazila in 1983. Nawabganj Upazila (DHAKA DISTRICT) area 244.80 sq km, It is bounded by SINGAIR upazila on the north, DOHAR upazila on the south, KERANIGANJ, SERAJDIKHAN and SREENAGAR upazilas on the east, HARIRAMPUR and MANIKGANJ SADAR upazilas on the west.Population Total 296605; male 145548, female 151057; Muslim 231488, Hindu 59559, Buddhist 5535 and others 23.Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 54.4%; male 56.4%, female 52.6%. Educational institutions: college 7, secondary school 34, primary school 109, community school 13, madrasa 4. Noted educational institutions: Bandura Holy Cross High School (1912), Churain Tarini Bama High School (1923). Cultural organisations Club 48, community centre 1, music academy 1, cinema hall 4, cultural organisation 3, women organisation 1, theatre group 2.Main sources of income Agriculture 31.01%, non-agricultural labourer 3.07%, industry 3.68%, commerce 12.98%, transport and communication 1.95%, service 12.26%, construction 3.82%, religious service 0.13%, rent and remittance 19.36% and others 11.74%.Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 42.42%, landless 57.58%; agricultural landowner: urban 25.62% and rural 43.32%. (f) Keraniganj 3 Keraniganj (Bengali: কেরানীগঞ্জ)is an upazila of Dhaka District in the division of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Keraniganj has 12 Unions/Wards, 123 Mauzas/Mahallas, and 399 villages. Educational Institutions: Educational and Religious institutions: Kenanigonj Upazila has 8 colleges, 18 high school, 2 junior high school, 11 Madrasa, 102 government primary school and 10 non-government primary school. Religious: There are 473 mosque, 151 temple, 1 tomb and 60 eidgah, most noted of which is the tomb of Adu Pagla. Total population 603114, male 322732 and female 280382. Religion: The district of Dhaka has more than 12000 mosques, 3012 temples, 530 churches, 174 Buddhist temples, three pagodas and a synagogue. For a long time, Islam has been the majority religion in Dhaka, with only 1300 mosques, but more mosques were recently built, and the district is now called the City of Mosques. Islamic festivals of Eid ul-Fitr, Eid ul-Adha, Eid-E-Miladunnabi and Muharram; Hindu festival of Durga Puja, Buddhist festival of Buddha Purnima; and Christian festival of Christmas witness widespread celebrations across the city. Culture: As the most populous city of Bangladesh, Dhaka has a vibrant cultural life. Annual celebrations for Independence Day (26 March), Language Martyrs Day (21 February) and Victory Day (16 December) are prominently celebrated across the city. Dhaka's people congregate at the Shaheed Minar and the Jatiyo Smriti Soudho to remember the national heroes of the liberation war. Pohela Baishakh, the Bengali New Year, falls annually on 14 April and is popularly celebrated across the city. Pahela Falgun (Bengali: পহেলা ফালগুন, first day of Spring of Bengali month Falgun, of the Bengali calendar, also celebrated in the city in a festive manner. This day is marked with colourful celebration and traditionally, women wear yellow saris to celebrate this day. This celebration is also known as Basanta Utsab (Bengali: বসন্ত উৎসব; Spring Festival). Nabanna is a celebration for harvest, usually celebrated with food and dance and music on the 1st day of the month of Agrahayan of Bengali year. Birthdays of Rabindranath Tagore and Kazi Nazrul Islam are observed respectively as Rabindra Jayanti and Nazrul Jayanti. Ekushey Book Fair, which is arranged each year by Bangla Academy and takes place for the whole month of February. This event is dedicated to the martyrs who died on 21 February 1952 in a demonstration calling for the establishment of Bengali as one of the state languages of former East Pakistan. Shakrain Festival (Bengali: সােরাইন) is an annual celebration observed with the flying of kites. It usually observed in old part of the city at the end of Poush, the ninth month of the Bengali calendar (14 January or 15 in Gregorian calendar). The most popular dressing style for women are sarees or salwar kameez, while men usually prefer western clothing to the traditional lungi with Panjabi. Jamdani saree of Dhaka is part of its cultural heritage, originate from the Mughal era. Jamdani sarees are 100% hand weaved and a single saree may take as long as 3 months to complete. 4 Despite the growing popularity of music groups and rock bands, traditional folk music remains widely popular.