Kamalpur

About Dhamrai

Dhamrai (Bengali: ধামরাই) is an upazila of Dhaka district in Dhaka division, Bangladesh. It is the largest upazila in the district by land area.

Geography

Dhamrai upazila is located about 40 kilometers northwest of the capital city of Dhaka. It is bounded by the upazilas of Mirzapur and Kaliakair on the north, Singair on the south, Savar in the east, and Manikganj Sadar, Saturia and Nagarpur on the west.

The total area of the upazila is 307.41 km2. Dhamrai upazila is composed of the alluvium soil of the Bongshi and Dhaleshwari rivers. Other rivers are Kolmai and Gazikha

History

There are two theories on the naming of Dhamrai. The first is that during the time of Ashoka, there was a Buddhist called Dharmarajika and that the area was named after him. The discovery of a Buddhist stupa in Savar, about 10 miles from Dhamrai, lends credence to this opinion. Another theory is that in the early fourteenth century, five companions of the Sufi saint Shah Jalal (Tirmidhi Al-Husayni, Haji, Ghazi, Zam Bahadur, and Shah Makhdum) came and settled in the sparsely populated and heavily forested area. Food supplies ultimately ran short and one day they found a stray cow wandering about which they slaughtered the cattle to eat and satisfy their hunger. After a few days, they were approached by Dhama Gope and his wife Rai Goalini who claimed that the cow was theirs and demanded compensation for it. The Sufis learnt that the couple was childless. It is said that with their blessings a child was born to the couple and also they said that they would name the place so that their names would forever be remembered. Thus the name Dhamrai (Dham+Rai) came about. Dhamrai was a Zamindari Estate to the Dhar family established by Kashmiri Pandit Maharaja Virendra Mohan Dar of Akhnoor. The Zamindari comprised thousands of acres of land from Rajrajeshwar, Sheriffbag, Nannar, Dhamrai after the royal family shifted from Akhnoor. The Dhar Zamindar Palace was established in c. 1802 by the Maharaja in Dhamrai.

Dhamrai was once under the Thana (now Upazila) of Savar. Dhamrai became a Thana itself in 1914 during the British rule; the same year Dhamrai Hardinge High School was established. In 1947 it was put under the district of Dhaka. On December 15, 1984, Dhamrai was upgraded into a full-fledged Upazila.

Demographics

According to the 2022 Bangladeshi census, Dhamrai Upazila had 134,023 households and a population of 517,135. 7.96% of the population were under 5 years of age. Dhamrai had a literacy rate (age 7 and over) of 73.72%: 77.45% for males and 69.99% for females, and a sex ratio of 100.54 males for every 100 females. 124,767 (24.13%) lived in urban areas.

According to the 2011 Census of Bangladesh, Dhamrai had 94,776 households and a population of 412,418. 81,402 (19.74%) were under 10 years of age. It had a literacy rate (age 7 and over) of 50.8%, compared to the national average of 51.8%, and a sex ratio of 992 females per 1000 males. 60,802 (14.74%) lived in urban areas.

As of the 1991 Bangladesh census, Dhamrai had a population of 312,777. Males constituted 50.37% of the population, and females constituted 49.63%. The population of citizens 18 years and older was 163,449. Dhamrai had an average literacy rate of 29.5% (7+ years), lower than the national average of 32.4%.

Administration

The upazila consists of one municipality (pourasabha) called Dhamrai pourasabha, 16 union parishads, and 398 villages.

The union parishads are: Amta, Baisakanda, Balia, Bhararia, Chauhat, Dhamrai, Gangutia, Jadabpur, Kulla, Kushura, Nannar, Rowail, Sanora, Sombhog, Suapur, and Sutipara. They are collectively subdivided into 290 mauzas and 398 villages.

Dhamrai pourasabha is subdivided into 9 wards and 44 mahallas.

Economy and development

The total cultivable land is 23,470 hectares. Of the total cultivable land (in hectares):

1 crop: 2,050

2 crop: 14,580

3 crop: 6,740

More than 3 crops: 100

Intensity of cultivation:

Source: Wikipedia →

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