Natore District

Natore is a district of Rajshahi Division[2] located in northern Bangladesh. It borders the metropolitan city of Rajshahi, and used to be part of Rajshahi district.

Natore

নাটোর
District
Uttara Gano Bhaban, earlier known as Dighapatia Rajbari, is now used as the prime minister's local residence and office in the northern region of Bangladesh
Location of Natore in Bangladesh
Expandable map of Natore
Coordinates: 24.41°N 88.93°E / 24.41; 88.93
Country Bangladesh
DivisionRajshahi Division
Government
 • Jatiyo Shôngshôd ConstituenciesNatore-1, Natore-2, Natore-3, Natore-4
Area
 • Total1,900.19 km2 (733.67 sq mi)
Population
 (2011 census)
 • Total1,706,673
 • Density900/km2 (2,300/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+06:00 (BST)
Postal code
6400
HDI (2018)0.606[1]
medium · 9th of 21
Chalan Beel is located in Natore and Pabna District.
Halti Beel is located in Natore District.

Etymology

At first Natore was a beel (a large water body) whose name was Chaivhanga. In 1706 Raja Ramjīvan Rai established his capital here by filling the beel. Up until 1821 Natore was the central office of Rajshahi district. In 1845 Natore Mahakuma was established. Natore Municipality was established in 1869. Natore became a fullfledged district in 1984. "Indigo resistance" movements took place in this district during 1859 and 1860.

History

Natore was the District Headquarters of Rajshahi since 1769–1825.[3] Administrative Natore subdivision was established in 1825 under Rajshahi district, on the eve of the shifting of the HQ.

During the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971 a direct battle was fought between the Pakistani occupation army and the freedom fighters of Mukti Bahini on 29 March in which about 40 members of the Pakistani army including Major Aslam and Captain Ishaq were killed. On 5 May 1971 Pakistani Army killed 42 employees of North Bengal Sugar Mills (Lalpur) including the then general manager of the mill, Lieutenant Anwarul Azim; they were killed near a pond in the mill campus. The pond is now known as "Shaheed Sagar" and there is a memorial beside the pond.

Marks of the War of Liberation: Mass grave 5, memorial 1.

Geography

Most part of Natore district is plain land. Chalan Beel, the largest beel in Bangladesh is in part of Natore district.

Natore District (Rajshahi division) with an area of 1896.05 km2, is bordered by Naogaon and Bogra districts to the north, Pabna and Kushtia districts to the south, Pabna and Sirajganj districts to the east, Rajshahi district to the west. The road distance from Natore to Dhaka is 220 kilometres. Lalpur is the lowest Average annual rainfall area of Bangladesh.

Agriculture

Garlic, sugarcane, wheat, mango, date, rice,watermelon etc.

Wheat field in natore.

Economy

Population 1521359. Sectoral share of occupations are Agriculture 41.75%, agricultural laborer 28.84%, wage laborer 3.01%, commerce 10%, service 5.02%, fishing 1.32% and others 10.06%. Economy of Natore is based on agriculture.

There are 2 sugar mills in Natore: 1.North Bengal Sugar Mills Limited.North Bengal Sugar Mills Limited, Lalpur, Natore (1933). 2. Natore Sugar Mills Limited, Natore Sadar, Natore (1985), Natore Sugar Mills Limited is 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) from Natore town. . This two sugar mills are the enterprises of the Bangladesh Sugar & Food Industries Corporation (BSFIC). Pran Agro Ltd., Ekdala, Natore Sadar (2005) is a private food manufacturing plant of Pran-RFL Group. Jamuna Distillery Limited (1995)is another private industry of Jamuna Group, the distillery produces industrial alcohol, the Distillery is situated near Natore Sugar Mills Limited. More industries will be set up if gas is supplied through pipeline in Natore. That's why it is becoming a public demand to supply gas through pipeline as soon as possible.

Hats, bazaars and fairs

Total number of hats and bazaars are 152, fairs 13. Tebaria Hat, which is situated 3 km from Natore town is a traditional hat which sits every Sunday. Tebaria is one of the biggest Hats of Natore and Bangladesh.

Exports

Main exports are sugar, paddy and vegetables.

Kacha Golla is a kind of sweet, made from milk and available in Natore District.

Natorer Kanchagolla

Kanchagolla is a famous food of Natore. It is made by curdling the milk and separating the whey from it and sugar. It has good reputation all over the country. Also in west Bengal, Assam, Tripura a d some other parts of south and south east Asia. It's a traditional food of Natore ! All people knows Natore that famous for kanchagolla.kanchagolla is main introducer of Natore District.

Points of interest
Rani Bhabani Rajbari, Natore.

Tourist attractions in Natore include Rani Bhabanir Rajbari, the palace of Queen Bhabani. Rani Bhabani was a great social worker.[4] She was the pioneer to spread education for the women of Bengal. It is a historical palace, situated in the Bongojol area nearby Natore zero (Madrasamore/old bus stand). There is a college, a school, and other institutions named after Rani Bhobani. Rani Bhabanir Rajbari is surrounded by a wonderful lake, which beautifies this area.

Kachari Bari, Natore.

Chalan Beel is a large natural wetland. During the monsoon, the area of the Bil increases and touches four upazilas (sub-districts) of the Natore district. The picnic parties come to Cholon Bil every season. They cook, sing, dance, and do everything they wish in their boats. It looks like a sea, especially during the monsoon.

Chalan Beel is located in Natore and Sirajganj District.

Uttara Gonobhaban also known as Dighapotia Rajbari is the most popular sight with visitors. The kings of Natore lived here. Today, it is called Uttara Gano Bhaban, and is one of the official residences of the president of Bangladesh. It is situated in large grounds, with decorative gates, a large garden, and hundreds of rooms. There is a lake surrounded proper palace area and some spectacular sculpture here. It is 3 km distance from Natore Zero point district town.Youtube video link:https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nF43rs5k2mw

Front gate of Uttara Gano Bhaban

Other places to visit include:

  • Natore Rajbari
  • Uttara Gonobhaban
  • Chalan Beel (mini Cox-bazar)
  • Pagla Raja's Palace (jubo park)
  • Patul (Halti kholabari)
  • Sankar gobinda Chowdhury Stadium, Natore
  • Maharaja's Palace
  • North Bengal Sugar Mills and the "Shaheed Sagar" memorial on the mill campus.
  • Pran-Agro Limited
  • Chalan Beel
  • St.Merry Catholic Church which is situated at Boraigram.

Administrative structure

Upazilas

Natore was the District HQ of Rajshahi since 1769–1825. At the eve of that replacement, Natore was declared as a Subdivision; that's why Natore is the first Subdivision of Bangladesh. Natore was established as a district in 1984.

Monument with names of martyrs

There are seven upazilas in the district:[2][5]

Pourasavas
Singra, Natore.

There are eight pourasavas in Natore district, 4 of them being the seat of upazilas (sub-districts). They are:

  1. Natore
  2. Singra
  3. Boraigram (Baraigram Upazila)
  4. Gurudaspur
  5. Bagatipara (Bagatipara Upazila)
  6. Lalpur Upazila
  7. Naldanga (Naldanga Upazila)
  8. Bonpara (Baraigram Upazil)

Natore town

The town has a population of 72615; male 51.57%, female 48.43%; density of population is 4825. Chalkbuddhnath, Station bajar, Borgasa, Alaipur, Kanaikhali, Nichabazar, Lalbazar, Madrasamor, Bongojal are the most populated areas of Natore Town.

Mayor : Uma Choudhury.

Administration

Deputy Commissioner (DC): Mohammad Shahriaz

Superintendent of Police (SP): Shamol Kumar Mukherjee

Administrator of Zila Porishod: Advocate Sajedur Rahman Khan Chowdhury

Infrastructure

Communication facilities: Roads: pucca 236.04 km, semi pucca 35 km and mud road 1703.85; railways 64 km.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are BRAC, CARE, Grameen Bank, ITCL, Thengamara Mahila Sabuj Sangha (TMSS) etc.

Transport
  • Roads & Highways:

Natore in literature

Famous romantic poet of Bengal, Jibanananda Das has written a poem named Banalata Sen regarding one "Banalata Sen from Natore".

Notable persons
  • Maharaja Jagadindra Nath Roy Bahadur (1868–1925) known as the Maharaja of Natore was a noted Jamindar of Natore from Bengal. He is also noted for his contribution to the game of cricket in British India.[6][7]
  • Rani Bhabani (1715–1802) was an independent Jamindar of Natore during British India.[8]
  • Madar Bux (1907 – January 20, 1967) was a Bengali politician. He served in the northern city of Rajshahi
  • Taijul Islam Bangladeshi cricketer
  • Zunaid Ahmed Palak – MP
  • Farida Parveen, Bangladeshi folk singer
  • Sarat Kumar Rai (1876–1946)
  • M. M. Rahmatullah was a bureaucrat and politician. He was the former Chief Engineer of the Public Works Department and later the chairman of the Capital Development Authority of the Government of Bangladesh. In 2000, he was an electoral candidate from Natore Area for the Parliament of Bangladesh (village-Hulhulia).
  • Jadunath Sarkar (1870–1958)
  • Banalata Sen of Natore (fictional character)
  • Zakir Talukder (20 January 1965 -) is a Bangladeshi Fiction Writer and Physician who is awarded Bangla Academy Literary Award for Fiction in 2014.[9]
  • Sultana Zaman[10]

See also

References
  1. "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  2. Md. Rezaul Karim (2012). "Natore District". In Sirajul Islam and Ahmed A. Jamal (ed.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
  3. Natorer Gaurab (The Glory of Natore), edited by Md. Mokshuder Rahman, A Publication of Natore District Administration, December 1989.
  4. ABM Mahmood (2012). "Rani Bhabani". In Sirajul Islam and Ahmed A. Jamal (ed.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
  5. Mohammad Zakaria (21 May 2014). "59.47% vote in 6th phase upazila polls". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
  6. Mukherji, Raju, Eden Gardens Legend & Romance: Eden Gardens, the heritage cricket venue, celebrated 150 years. Kolkatatoday.com. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  7. Division, Bangladesh Ministry of Cabinet Affairs Establishment; Ishaq, Muhammad. Bangladesh District Gazetteers: Rajshahi 1976. Bangladesh Government Press. pp. 240–41. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  8. William Hunter, Annals of Rural Bengal.
  9. "Bangla Academy awards for 2014 announced". bdnews24.com. 29 January 2015.
  10. Akhter, Shamima (2012). "Zaman, Sultana". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
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