Sylhet District Information

Posted In: Sylhet, by on May, 15 2011. 4 Comments

Sylhet District is one of the four districts in the Sylhet Division and is located in north-east corner of Bangladesh. Sylhet District has a long history. This district was established on January 3, 1782 and until 1878 it was part of Bengal province. That time Sylhet was included in the newly created Assam province, and it remained as part of Assam up to 1947. . But In 1947 as a result of a referendum, it was attached to the East Pakistan and was included in the Chittagong. Then the greater Sylhet was divided into four new districts. They are Sylhet, Sunamganj, Habiganj and Maulvi Bazar in 1983-1984. Sylhet is a city and head of the Sylhet division. This district consists of 11 upazillas, 2 municipalities, 37 wards, 233 mahallas, 98 union parishads, 1,693 mouzas and 3,249 villages. The upazillas/subdivisons are Balaganj, Beanibazar, Bishwanath, Companiganj, Fenchuganj, Golabganj, Gowainghat, Jaintiapur, Kanaighat, Sylhet Sadar and Zakiganj. Osmani Nagar is a Thana which is Under Balaganj.

Area: 3,490.40 km2 (1,347.7 sq mi). This is about 8% of the total land area of Bangladesh

Population: 2,675,346.

Religion: Islam 92.57%, Hinduism 7.30%, Christian 0.07%, others 0.045%

Density: 766.5/km2 (1,985.2/sq mi)

Literacy rate: 46%. Male 50.6%, female 38.4%.

Ethnic community: Monipuri, khashia.

Main occupations: Agriculture 30.82%.

Main crops: Paddy, mustered, betel nut etc.

Marks of War of Liberation: There are 9Mass killing site, 13mass grave, 14 memorial monument and 1 memorial statue.

Boundary: Sylhet District is bounded by the Khasia-Jainta hills of India on the north, Maulvi Bazar district on the south, Kachhar and Karimganj districts of India on the east, Sunamganj and Habiganj districts on the west.

Geographical condition: Sylhet has mainly of hill soils and mostly experience a hot, wet and humid tropical climate. Sylhet city is within the monsoon climate zone. It has annual average highest temperatures of 23°C (during August and October) and average lowest temperature of 7°C (during January).

Transport process: Sylhet has very good transportation process with the capital city. From Dhaka someone can go to Sylhet by bus, train or by air.
Osmani International Airport of Sylhet is Bangladesh’s third busiest airport and became an international airport now.
Sylhet Railway Station is the main railway station of national routes operated by Bangladesh Railway.
The bus service is also very comfortable. Here a Highway link to India have been established through the Asian highway.
In the city mainly Cycle rickshaws, auto rickshaws, buses, mini-buses and cars are used for transportation.

Education
Sylhet district is under the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Sylhet.
Shahjalal University of Science and Technology is the first science and technology university established in Bangladesh is situated here.
Sylhet Engineering College is a Govt. institution for engineering .it is a well reputed institution. Osmani Medical College is the onty one Govt. Medical college here.
There are also a Cadet College, and a Law College which are called Sylhet Cadet College and Sylhet Law College.
There are also four private universities in Sylhet, namely Leading University, Sylhet international University and Metropolitan University.
There are also four private medical colleges in Sylhet. They are Jalalabad Ragib-Rabeya Medical College and Hospital, North East Medical College & Hospital, Sylhet Women’s Medical College and Durre Samad Red Crescent Medical College.
There are also 1polytechnic institute, 1 PTI, 35 colleges, 1 vocational training institute, 218 high schools, 1320 primary school and 148 madrasa.

Sylheti culture
Sylheti people has a special dialect called Sylheti language . This is the main language spoken in, which does not contain a written form. You will be surprised that There is greater differences of Sylheti to Bengali, than Assamese to Bengali, which is recognised as separate.
The majority of the Muslims are mainly Sunni Hanafi and some people Sufi ideals.
The largest numbers of people from Sylhet are living abroad of Bangladesh. They are living in the United Kingdom, with a population of about 300,000 (95% of the Bangladeshi population. Sylheti people are highly concentrated in the East London and have established themselves within the communities. Brick Lane is known as Banglatown. Sylheti foreigners are known as “Londoni” in Sylhet. Many have also immigrated to the United States—they are mainly spread out across the country, but have a large population in New York City. Many other are also working as foreign workers in the Middle East countries.
The Sylheti people use a citrus fruit known as shatkora for flavour in curries, which is grown primarily in the Sylhet region.
All Bangladeshi television channels are available here and there is a British-owned Channel S . They correspond and report based in the city and broadcast Sylheti programs.

Notable Personalities
Most influential person in Sylhet is Shah Jalal, who was one of the greatest saints in the region. He has a great contribution for the conversion to Muslim of people in the Bengal region. His tomb lies in the Shah Jalal Dargah Mazar Sharif in the north, which is still as used as a place of pilgrimage.
M. A. G. Osmani was the commander-in-chief of the Bangladesh Forces during the Liberation War, 1971.
Saifur Rahman, was the first politician from Sylhet to be a member of the cabinet in the government. He was an economist.
Great musician Hason Raja and Shah Abdul Karim are son opf this soil. They produced Bangladeshi folk music.
Notable players from Sylhet who have played for the national team of Cricket include Rajin Saleh, Enamul Haque Jr, Tapash Baisya, and Alok Kapali.

Attractive Places of Sylhet

Historical places
The Shrine of Hazrat Shah Jalal
The Shrine of Hazrat Shah Paran
Shahi Eidgah
Stone monument of Jaintapur
Mound of Gharduara
Gaiyabi Mosque Abu Torab Mosque
Nawabi Masque
Mughal Mosque at Akhalia
Dhaka Dakshmin Temple
Tin Mandir (trio temple)
Gour Govinda Fort
Kean Bridge
Ali Amjad’s Clock Tower
Rampasha, Biswanath (Home of Mystic Poet Hason Raja & Eklimur Raja)
Shree Chaitanya Mandir (Nimai)
Jainta Rajbari
Malini chora Tea Garden
Kalagul
The shrine of Hazrat Sayyeed Zakir Shah Fatimi
M.C College

Natural beauty:

  • Tilagarh Eco Park (Alutal)
  • Jaflong
  • Tamabil
  • Sripur Park
  • Bholaganj
  • Lala khal
  • Jakaria city (Eco park)
  • Nadim Gaar (Resort)
  • Lakdi Toda tea estate
  • Malnichara Tea Estate
  • Tarapur Tea Estate
  • Chanbagh Tea Estate
  • Mumin Chori Tea Estate
  • Parjatan Corporation, Sylhet. (Resort)

City attraction:

  • Dream Land (Theme Park)
  • Adventure World (Amusement Park)
  • Osmani Shishu Udyan (Park)
  • Shah Jalal Bridge
  • Sylhet Stadium (M.A.G. Osmani Stadium)
  • Museum
    Osmani Museum
    Museum of Rajas'(Mystic Poet Hason Raja & Folk Museum)

Other Attractions

  • Manipuri Para
  • Handicraft
  • Sheetal Pati

Sylhet city
Sylhet is a major city in north-eastern Bangladesh and is the main city of Sylhet Division and Sylhet District. This is a metropolitan city and also called the cyber city of the country. This city is located on the banks of the Surma River and is surrounded by the Jaintia, Khasi and Tripura hills. The city is approaching a population of 500,000 people and area 26.50 km2 . So it has a high population density. It is one of the largest cities in Bangladesh. Literacy rate is 70% among the people. Sylhet consists of 27 wards and 210 mahallas. The city is administrated by the Sylhet City Corporation. The Sylhet City Corporation is responsible for the services that are provided within the city which includes traffic, roads, garbage collection, water supply, registrations and many others. The corporation consists of the Chairman and 22 other Commissioners and focuses on the development of the city. Though The Sylhet region is well known for its tea gardens and tropical forests, the city however is currently known for its booming business. This city is also described as a City of Saints, with the tomb of the great saint Hazrat Shah Jalal. He brought Islam to Bengal during the 14th century is located here.

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