Bangladesh
Introduction: Visiting Bangladesh, as one traveler put it, is not a journey – it’s an experience. With 130 million people inhabiting some of the most productive land in the world, the country is as poor as it is luxuriously fertile. Bangladesh has had more than its share of misfortunes, but it doesn’t deserve the image of a “basket case”. The economy thrives on its hard-working labour force, non-government aid projects such as the Grameen Bank are models of the world, traditional arts finds a place beside contemporary forms, and the resilience of the people is almost miraculous. Because it is one of the few Asian countries untouched by mass tourism, you can be sure that the hospitality of the Bangladeshi people is genuine.
Nestled snugly in the rook of the Bay of Bengal and braided by the fingers of the Padma (Ganges) -Brahmaputra delta, Bangladesh offers interesting trips through the country-side on boats plying the country’s innumerable rivers, reputedly the longest beach in the world, the largest littoral mangrove forest in the world, and archeological sites of cultures dating back over 2000 years. As well, it has a fascinating architectural heritage, which includes carved Hindu temples, beautiful centuries-old mosques and decaying “Gone with the Wind” mansions of the 19th century maharajas and nawabs.
In winter, when most people visit, rural Bangladesh has an atmosphere all its own, a kind of tropical Gothic; waiving fields of ripening rice, eerily rustling stands of bamboo, impeccably clean villages sheltering under columns of tall palm trees, and rickshaw drivers swathed in cloaks against the cool damp air.
While the country is mostly riverine plains and flat, making it fantastic for cycling, there are two major hilly areas, both of which are, relatively speaking, sparsely populated. One is around the boarders of the north-east, where beautifully manicured tea estates dot the country-side. The other is the Chittagong Hill Tracts in the south-east, a surprisingly large area of rolling hills covered with verdant tropical forests and populated with colourfully dressed tribal people.
While Bangladesh can’t offer quite the variety of cultures and ancient monuments, life along the rivers is fascinating, the country-side Bangladesh is lush and beautiful, and the air is by far cleaner. The backwoods villages of the hill regions await discovery. The country is also friendly; foreigners attract a fair amount of staring. The country doesn’t have much visitors, but you can use it to your advantage – “Come to Bangladesh before the tourists”.
Khulna Division
The Division of Khulna is considerably influenced by the tributaries of the Ganges, which find their way into the Bay of Bengal through a vast maze of waterways, making two-thirds of Khulna marshland or dense jungle consisting of mangrove swamps, an absolute haven for wildlife.
 Khulna Division with an area of 22273.21 sq km, is bounded by Rajshahi division on the north, Bay of Bengal on the south, Dhaka and Barisal divisions on the east, West Bengal on the west. Main rivers of the division are Ganges, Gorai-Madhumati, Ichamati, Kobadak, Shibsa, Kumar, Rupsa-Pasur, Bhairab, Chitra, Raymangal and Mathabhanga The Sundarbans is located in this division covering parts of Satkhira, Bagerhat and Khulna districts.
Khulna Division is an administrative region in south-west Bangladesh. It has a population of almost 30 million. Its headquarters is Khulna district.
Constituent Districts of Khulna Division: Khulna division consists of one City Corporation, 10 districts, 28 municipalities, and 9277 villages. The following districts make up the Khulna Division: Bagerhat, Chuadanga, Jessore, Jhenaidah, Khulna, Kushtia, Magura, Meherpur, Narail, and Satkhira.
 Places of Interest in Khulna Division:
Bagerhat: Shait Gumbad Mosque
Kustia: Lalon shah’s majar, Rabindra Kuthi Bari, Mujib Nagar (amro kanon)
Jessore: Michael Madhusudan Datta’s residence
Khulna: Rabindra kachari (fultala)
Mongla:
Sunderban: Hiron Point (Nilkamal) for tiger, deer, monkey, crocodiles, birds and natural beauty. Katka for deer, tiger, crocodiles, varieties of birds and monkey, morning and evening symphony of wild fowls. Vast expanse of grassy meadows running from Katka to Kachikhali (Tiger Point) provide opportunities for wild tracking. Tin Kona Island for tiger and deer. Dublar Char (Island) for fishermen. It is a beautiful island where herds of spotted deer are often seen to graze.
Khulna
Khulna is the third largest industrial city of Bangladesh and a major commercial center which is 333 km southwest of Bangladesh's capital Dhaka. With a population of 1.4 million, it is a divisional headquarters, in southwestern Bangladesh, which serves as a gateway to the seaport of Mongla - 60 km away from the city and the Sundarbans.
 Khulna City is located on the banks the Rupsha and Bhairab rivers and characterized by Ganges tidal floodplains with low relief, criss-crossed by rivers and water channels and surrounded by tidal marshes and swamps. An important river port and trade center, it is connected by river steamer, road, and rail to the major cities of the southern Gangetic delta.
Khulna is one of the four metropolitan cities of the country and has two universities, a medical college, a Cantonment (Zahanabad Sena Nibash not with a full division), a Naval Base (BNS Titumir), the country's only Telephone Cable and Newsprint industry. Bangladesh's largest ship building industry is also housed in Khulna. Shipyards are located 3 miles (5 km) south, on the Kazibacha River.
It is part of the largest delta of the world. Khulna is mainly a plain land. Southern part of the delta is Sundarban, the world's largest mangrove forest. The city of Khulna is on the northern part of the district. It is mainly expansion of trade centers by the rivers Rupsha and Bhairob.
Transportation
 Khulna has a good transport system. It has a good link to all districts through road, rail, and water ways. Though it is a busy city, but it has no traffic jam. In Khulna there is only one bus terminal. It is named Sonadanga Bus Stand. There is a rail junction situated at the hard point of Khulna. Northern Bangladesh is linked basically by railway, though it has also linked by road with northern Bangladesh.
Beside the rail station there is a water transport terminal (B.I.W.T.C.). Barishal division is mainly connected by water ways.
One of the most interesting ways of reaching Khulna and subsequently the Bagerhat monuments is to travel there by boat from Dhaka on the 'Rocket Steamer Service', a relic of the British Raj. The boats are vintage paddle steamers with accommodation ranging from steerage to First Class. The trip is a wonderful way of exploring the Sundarbans, seeing the river life and reminiscing on what travel in India must have been like at the beginning of the century. The steamer fleet for this route includes the ancient ships Tern (1912), Ostrich and Lepcha. But Ghazi & MV Masud are by far the best of the Rocket Fleet; Channel 9 of Australia broadcasted a documentary on the vessel MV Masud.
There is no air port in Khulna. Khulna is connected by Jessore airport which is about 70 km away from Khulna city.
Telecommunication
Khulna has a good telecommunication system. It has all kinds of advanced system. It is linked by some cell phone network services with whole world. It is properly connected by internet service. The postal code of Khulna is “9000” and telephone code is “041”.
Education
Though Khulna is the place of some famous and old educational institutions, but universities in Khulna is a very recent thing. Khulna University is the first ever university not only in the district but also in the division which started its academic activities only in 1991. Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (former Bangladesh Institute of Technology, Khulna) is the second university of the district.
University: 2 nos.
Khulna University
Khulna University of Engineering and Technology
Medical College: 1 no.
Khulna Medical College
B.L College & Ajam Khan Commerce College are two other old and famous institutions for higher studies in the region that offer Bachelor & Masters degree on various subjects under the National University.
Secondary and higher secondary education of Khulna is under Jessore board. Khulna Zila School, which is established in ….., is one of the prominent schools of the region.
History of Khulna
The affluent city of Khulna, known in history as Khalifatabad was laid out by a little-known warrior saint Ulugh Khan Jahan, in the mid-l5th century, at the present location of Bagerhat, the "abode of the tigers." Khan Jahan came from Delhi to settle a Muslim colony in this swampland in the early-15th century and was no doubt the earliest torchbearer of Islam in the south. Legend has it that he constructed about 360 mosques and as many freshwater tanks, as well as palaces, mausolea and other public buildings in a very short space of time. He also constructed a network of roads linking important centers in Bengal with his city.
Khulna, as a city, has a history of more than one hundred years. The city originated as a market town and seat of administration. During the early days, tobacco and sugarcane were traded here and it had a trade link with Calcutta. Khulna was constituted a municipality in 1884, became a railway link in 1985, district headquarters in 1961, and a city corporation in 1984. Industrialization took place in the 1960s. Khulna is named after a goddess of hindu religion, Khulleswiri.
Economy
Khulna was the backbone of the East Pakistan's main foreign currency earner Jute industry. There are many large Jute mills located in Khalispure near Khulna city processing Jute fiber, besides the other heavy industries like Khulna News Print Mills (recently closed) and Khulna Hardboard Mills are famous. The country's second sea-port, Mongla Port and the largest ship building industry of the country is also located in Khulna. Mongla hosts the 3rd EPZ of the country.
The largest mangrove forest in the World the Sundarban is spread over the three districts of Satkhira, Khulna and Bagherhat in the division. Forest products from the Sundarbans supply Khulna's industries, which include jute, oilseed, cotton-textile, paper, and board mills and match and newsprint factories. Honey from Sunderban is very renowned, and this mangrove forest is the supplier of the most of the industrial honey to the pharmaceutical industry of the country.
Khulna is famous for shrimp processing; there are 124 shrimp processing factories in Bangladesh most of which are in Khulna & Chittagong. Besides a good number of salt processing factories are located in Khulna.
Noted personalities of Khulna
Place of Interest
Sundarban: Sundarban is the largest mangrove in the very world. It is in the southern [south-western] part of Khulna. Most of the part about 70% is in Bangladesh. It is spread from Indian border to Patuakhali district by the coast side.
 Sundarban is a cluster of islands with an approximate area of 6000 sq. km. forming the largest block of littoral forests. Its beauty lies in its unique natural surrounding. Thousands of meandering streams, creeks, rivers and estuaries have enhanced its charm. Sundarban is the natural habitat of the world famous Royal Bengal Tiger, a cunning, ruthless and yet majestic and graceful animal, which is not found anywhere except Sundarban.
Spotted deer, crocodiles, jungle fowl, wild boar, lizards, theses monkey and an innumerable variety of beautiful birds like ducks and snipes, herons and coots, yellow-lags and sandpipers added glory to the forest. Migratory flock of Siberian ducks flying over thousands of sail boats loaded with timber, golpatta (round-leaf), fuel wood, honey, shell and fish further add to the serene natural beauty of the Sundarbans.
For miles and miles, the lofty treetops form an unbroken canopy, while nearer the ground, works of high and ebb-tide marked on the soil and tree trunks and the many varieties of the natural mangrove forest have much to offer to an inquisitive visitor. Here land and water meet in many novel fashions, Wildlife presents many a spectacle.
Abridged from Bangladesh, 4th Edition, Nov. 2000, Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd. Pages 11-12
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