Bogra/Bogura District Information

Posted In: Rajshahi, by on Jun, 01 2011. 8 Comments

Bogra or Bogura is a northern district of Bangladesh within the Rajshahi Division. It is called the gateway to the north Bengal. Once upon a time, Bogra district was a part of the ancient Pundravardhana territory. Once it was the capital of Pundravardhana. Bogra district was established in 1821 with 9 thanas, of which four from Rajshahi district (Adamdighi, Bogra, Sherpur, Nawkhila), 3 from Dinajpur district (Lalbazar, Badalgachhi, Khetlal), and two from Rangpur district (Gobindaganj, Dewanganj). In 1983, greater Bogra district was divided into two districts. They are- Bogra and Joypurhat. Bogra district consists of 5 municipalities, 48 wards, 166 mahallas, 12 upazilas, 109 union parishads, 1782 mouzas and 2706 villages. The upazilas are
• Adamdighi
• Bogra Sadar
• Dhunat
• Dupchanchia
• Gabtali
• Kahaloo
• Nandigram
• Sahajanpur
• Sariakandi
• Sherpur
• Shibganj
• Sonatala
Population: 2988567. Among the male are 50.84%, female 49.16%.

Religion: Muslim 91%, Hindu and others 9%.

Literacy rate: Average literacy 28.4%; male 35.4%, female 21%.

Main occupations: Agriculture 45.8%, agricultural labour 21.09%, commerce 12.21% etc

Main exports:Ceramic goods, rice, vegetable, turmeric, ginger.

Area: 2919.9 sq km

Boundary: Bogra is bounded by JOYPURHAT and GAIBANDHA districts on the north, the CHALAN BEEL, NATORE and SIRAJGANJ districts on the south, JAMUNA river and JAMALPUR district on the east, Part of Chalan Beel, NAOGAON and Natore districts on the west.

Annual average temperature: Maximum 34.6° C and minimum 11.9° C

Annual total rainfall: 1610 mm.

Cantonment: 1 cantonment. Bogra Cantonment is located in Bogra District.

Naming history of Bogra: Sultan Nasiruddin Bagra Khan, the second son of the emperor of Sultan GHIYASUDDIN BALBAN became the ruler of Bengal in 1200 AD. Bogra was named after him.
Historical Bogra: Bogra is famous for its historical values. It is the former capital city of Pundravardhana as, which is now known as Mahasthangarh. In the ancient period, Bogra was a part of the territory of the Pundras or Paundras. Together they are called Pundravardhana. Pundravardhana was one of the kingdoms of Eastern India. It was separated by the stream of river Karatoya from the more easterly kingdom of Prag-Jyotisha or Kamrupa. According to the Indian myth Mahabharata and the Puranas, Vasudeva, a powerful prince of the Pundra family, is said to have ruled over Pundravardhana during 1280 B.C. Now that historical town is known as Mahasthangarh which is a tourist spot. .
During the 4th to 8th century BC this region was ruled by many rulers. It went under Pala rule from the middle of 8th century that continued till 12th century. Then the Sena King VIJAYASENA conquered the region defeating the last Pala King MADANPALA. Bogra came under the Muslim rule after BAKHTIYAR KHALJI conquered Nadia. In 1281-1290 AD, Sultan Nasiruddin Bagra Khan, the second son of the emperor of Sultan GHIYASUDDIN BALBAN became the ruler of Bengal. The area was named after him.
The historical Fakir-Sannyasi movement spread over Bogra region since the early British rule. The Indigo Rebellion spread over the district in mid 19th century.
The present District of Bogra, was first formed in 1821 during the British rule. The area of Bogra was enveloped in thick fighting during the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971.

Main Rivers: once Korotoa was very influencing river and till now Karatoya is the central divider of water-channel of the district. Some important rivers of this district are
• The Bangali
• The Karatoya
• The Jamuna
• The Nagar
• The Tulshiganga

Notable Educational Institutions: Bogra has a public medical college , 2 teacher’s training colleges, 1 vocational teacher’s training institute , 1 polytechnic institute, 2 primary teacher’s training institute, 1 technical training centre, 1 NTRAMS , 1 law college, 1 art college and 1 agricultural training institute. Sondabari Darul Hadis Rahmania Madrasa (1700), Bogra Zila School (1853 and Bogra Government Girl’s High School (1869) are very old educational institution of Bogra. AZIZUL HUQ COLLEGE (1939) is a very famous college of Bangladesh.

Heritage of Bogra:
• Kherua Mosque at Sherpur
• Remnants of the historical MAHASTHANGARH
• Bara Masjid
• Parshuram’s Palace
• Vasu Vihara
• Mazar (tomb) of Shah Sultan Balkhi
• Gokul Medh

Industry: Bogra is an industrial city where many small and midsized industries are housed. Once it was the industrial capital of Bangladesh. There were several heavy industries. Most of them were owned by the local elite family like “BHANDARI”, “JAMIL and “TAJMA”. Bhandari’s had several establishments. Among them, Bogra Cotton Spinning Mills, North Bengal Tannery, Habib Match Factory, Golam Kibria Soap Works, Bhandari Glass works, Bhandari Biri were the prime ones. Jamil’s are keeping their business like Jamil Housing, Jamil shopping complex, Jan-e-saba community center and others. Tajma group of Industry heading their business named Tajma Creamic Industry, Tajma Enamel Industry, Transfer Paper Limited, Agrofresh Limited, Snow be Ice Cream Industry and so on.

Bogra Town: Bogra Pourashava (Bogra Municipal Corporation) is the civic administration of the city of Bogra. The town of Bogra was founded in 1850 consists of 12 wards and 46 mahallas. The municipality was established in 1884. It has an area of 18.85 sq km. The town has a population of 150138; male 52.37%, female 47.63%. Literacy rate among the town people is 63%. Bogra is known as the industrial city of the North Bengal and once it was the industrial city of Bangladesh. Bogra is famous for its cultural activities. It is a very old area with urbanization. In the 1901 census, the population of the district was around 854,533. The census says that there was no town with as many as 10,000 inhabitants in this area.

About Shakilah

Loves history, culture and traveling to new places!