Hinduism: Details about 'Dhaka'
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Note: You may need a to see all the characters on this page. Dhaka (previously Dacca; Bangla: ঢাকা), population 12,560,000 (2005), is the capital of Bangladesh. The city is situated on the Buriganga River, a channel of the Dhaleshwari River, in the heart of the world's largest jute-growing region. It is the industrial, commercial, and administrative center of Bangladesh, with trade in jute, rice, oilseeds, sugar, and tea. Manufactures include textiles and jute products. Dhaka is famous for its handicrafts. Geographically, Dhaka is located at 23°42' North, 90°22'30" East (23.7, 90.375).
HistoryDhaka's history dates back to the year 1000, but the city achieved glory as the capital of Mughal Bengal. At that time, it was also known as Jahangir Nagar in honor of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir. The city passed to British rule in 1765. It became the capital of East Pakistan in 1947. In 1971, the city became capital of the newly independent country Bangladesh. It was formerly known under the spelling Dacca.Modern Dhaka has vastly outgrown the so-called Old Dkaka. Statistically, its population has grown to around 14 million during recent decades, due to a population shift from rural areas. Old Dhaka with its important port and various historical sites can still be found at the southern end of the sprawling and disorganised modern city. PresentThe city is divided into ten parliamentary constituencies. Whichever party has won the parliamentary elections have also tended to win the majority of the seats inside the capital. Gulshan, Dhanmondi and Banani are the major residential neighborhoods. Motijheel is the major business district, containing the headquarters of most of the country's banks and corporate houses, as well as that of the central Bangladesh Bank, although many upscale businesses have recently relocated to Gulshan. Ramna contains the Secretariat, which houses most of the government ministries, the residences of senior Government officials, and is also the seat of the Supreme Court. On August 17, 2005, the city was hit by a series of simultaneous explosions (part of approximately 500 explosions across the country), set by terrorists. One Islamist group, Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen claimed responsibility. Landmarks
DemographicsBangladesh's largest city is the image of Bengali culture and diversity. There are many descendants of the millions who migrated from India in 1947, including a small community of Bihari Muslims. The vast majority of the people are Muslims, but there are significant Hindu, Christian and Buddhist communities. Bengali is the most widely-spoken language, while English and Urdu are understood and spoken by some demographics. EconomyDhaka is also the commercial heart of Bangladesh, its gateway to the world. Dhaka's energy and communications infrastructure is the most modern available in the country, and it accounts for much of Bangladesh's net GDP growth. Most of Bangladesh's skilled workers and college graduates are employed in businesses and industries based in and around the Dhaka metropolitan area. The Dhaka Stock Exchange is the country's largest market. Most of foreign trade and investment is conducted with companies based here. Dhaka has also led the country's rise in the global IT industry, with a massive expansion in wireless communications, and the proliferation of electronics across the population. Since 1996, the Bangladeshi government has steadily moved away from socialism and adopted free-market reforms. Dhaka has been the recepient of the boom in foreign investment, service industries and information technology. Dhaka gives the lead to economic growth to the rest of the country. However, poverty, lack of basic services, illiteracy and poor sanitation are still serious problems for the city, as they are for the rest of Bangladesh. Torrential rains and floods cause terrible damage to the city's infrastructure and economy, and most seriously to the population, reducing any benefits of previous improvements and growths. Civic administrationDhaka City Corporation is a self-governing corporation that is associated with the task of running the affairs of the city. The incorporated area is divided into several wards. Each ward has an elected ward commissioner. The mayor of the city is elected by popular vote every five years. Public transportationThe main mode of transportation in Dhaka city is non-motorized cycle rickshaws. Almost 320,000 rickshaws are run in the Dhaka city every day, of these, 70,000 of them are officially registered . Rickshaws have been blamed for causing traffic congestion, and have been banned from some major city roads despite their low cost and low pollution levels. The next important means of transport are public buses. The state-owned Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) operates local and long distance buses. There are many private bus operators which provided local bus service, as well as premium non-stop bus service between the downtown and the suburbs. Before 2002, Dhaka was plagued with pollution from two-stroke 3-wheeler taxis or scooters (locally called Baby Taxy, each carrying about 3 passengers) and human haulers (locally called Tempu, each carried about 10 people). More than 50,000 smoke-emitting taxis polluted the air with carbon-monoxide, lead, and other hazardous compounds. A Government-ban on two-stroke vehicles in 2002 helped clear the air. Since then, the two-stroke taxis have been replaced by four-stroke Green taxis which run on Concentrated Natural gas or CNG. A low number of CNG refilling stations created a problem initially, but Government subsidies and allocation of land for such stations have encouraged the establishment of a sufficient number of CNG stations. Zia International Airport is Bangladesh's main international airport, and the bearer of a large traffic and trade across South Asia, Central Asia, Europe and North America. Finally, Dhaka has a large number of private cars. Since the cost of a car is well above the per-capita annual income of most of the people, ownership of cars is limited to the wealthier segment of the population. Major Universities and Colleges
ঢাকা Dhaka Dhaka Dhaka Dhaka Dako Dhâkâ Dacca - ঢাকাgu:ઢાકા 다카 ढाका Dhaka Dhaka דאקה Daka Dhaka Dhaka (stad) ダッカ Dhaka Dhaka Dacca Dacca Дакка Dhaka Dháka Dhaka Dacca ธากา 达卡
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