Chittagong :
Bengali
pronunciation: Porto Grande de Bengala; Mughal Islamabad) is a major
coastal seaport city and financial centre in southeastern Bangladesh. The city
has a population of more than 2.5 million while
the metropolitan area has a population of over 6.5 million, making it the second
largest city in the country. It is the capital of an eponymous district and division.
The city is located on the banks of the Karnaphuli River between the Chittagong
Hill Tracts and the Bay of Bengal.
The Port of Chittagong is the largest international
seaport on the Bay of Bengal. The city is home to many of Bangladesh's oldest
and largest companies, as well as the Chittagong Stock Exchange, the Chittagong
Tea Auction and the eastern division of the Bangladesh Railway. The Chittagong
Naval Area is the largest base of the Bangladesh Navy. Though despite having a
high and growing urban per capita GDP in South Asia and being one
of the fastest growing cities in the world, the city has a poverty rate of
11.3%, as of 2010. Chittagong is reputed as a relatively clean city, but still
confronts substantial logistical and socioeconomic problems.
Stone age fossils and tools unearthed in the region
indicate that Chittagong has been inhabited since Neolithic times. It is an
ancient port city, with a recorded history dating back to the 4th century BCE.
Its harbour was mentioned in Ptolemy's world map in the 2nd century as one of
the most impressive ports in the East. The region was part of the ancient
Bengali Samatata and Harikela kingdoms. The Candra dynasty once dominated the
area, and was followed by the Varman dynasty and Deva dynasty.
The Chittagong armoury raid by Bengali revolutionaries in
1930 was a major event in British India's anti-colonial history.
During World War II, Chittagong became a frontline city
in the Southeast Asian Theater. It was a critical air, naval and military base
for Allied Forces during the Burma Campaign against Japan. The Imperial
Japanese Air Force carried out air raids on Chittagong in
April and May 1942, in the run up to the aborted Japanese invasion of Bengal.
British forces were forced to temporarily withdraw to Comilla and the city was
evacuated. After the Battle of Imphal, the tide turned in favor of the Allied
Forces. Units of the United States Army Air Forces Tenth Air Force were stationed
in Chittagong Airfield between 1944 and 1945 .American squadrons
included the 80th Fighter Group, which flew P-38 Lightning fighters over Burma;
the 8th Reconnaissan Group an the
4th Combat Cargo Group. Commonwealth forces included troops from Britain, India,
Australia and New Zealand. The war had major negative impacts on the city,
including the growth of refugees and the Great Famine of 1943 .
Chittagong Port in 1960
Many wealthy Chittagonians profited from wartime
commerce, including firms like A K Khan & Company and
M. M. Ispahani Limited.
The Partition of British India
in 1947 made Chittagong the chief port of East Bengal, which was the most populous province in the new Pakistani federation. Many
companies in Calcutta shifted their corporate headquarters to the city. In the
1950s, Chittagong witnessed increased industrial development with investments
from foreign companies and the Muslim business community, particularly the Aga Khanies. Among pioneering industrial establishments
included those of Chittagong Jute Mills, the Burmah Eastern Refinery, the Karnaphuli Paper Mills and
Pakistan National Oil.
However, East Pakistanis complained of a lack of investment in Chittagong in
comparison to Karachi in West Pakistan, even though East Pakistan generated more
exports and had a larger population. The Awami League demanded that the country's naval headquarters be
shifted from Karachi to Chittagong.
During the Bangladesh Liberation War
in 1971, Chittagong witnessed heavy fighting between rebel Bengali military
regiments and the Pakistan Army. It covered Sector 1
in the Mukti Bahini chain of command. The Bangladeshi Declaration of
Independence was broadcast from Kalurghat Radio Station and transmitted internationally
through foreign ships in Chittagong Port. The Pakistani military and supporting
Razakar militias carried out widespread atrocities against civilians in the
city. Mukti Bahini naval commandos drowned several Pakistani warships during Operation
Jackpot in August 1971 The Bangladesh Air Force and
the Indian Air Force carried
out heavy bombing of Pakistani military occupied facilities in December 1971. A
naval blockade was also enforced
Cox's Bazar
St. Martin's Island
St. Martin's Island is a small island (area only 8 km2) in the
northeastern part of the Bay of Bengal, about 9 km south of the tip of the
Cox's Bazar-Teknaf peninsula, and forming the southernmost part of Bangladesh.
There is a small adjoining island that is separated at high tide, called Chhera
island. It is about 8 km west of the northwest coast of Myanmar, at the
mouth of the Naf River. The first settlement started just 250 years ago by some
Arabian sailors who named the island ‘Zajira’. During British occupation the
island was named St. Martin Island. The local names of the island are
"Narical Gingira", also spelled "Narikel Jinjira/Jinjera",
which means 'Coconut Island' in Bengali, and "Daruchini Dip". It is
the only coral island in Bangladesh.The city of Chittagong has many high end, private hotels such as the Hotel Agrabad, the Hotel Well Park Residence, The Peninsula Chittagong, the Hotel Harbour View, the Hotel Meridian, and Avenue Hotels and Suites.
The JW Marriott, Westin and Radisson Blu are among the upcoming five-star hotels in Chittagong city.
Bandarban District
Bandarban is a district in South-Eastern Bangladesh, and a part of the Chittagong Division and Chittagong Hill Tracts. Bandarban is regarded as one of the most attractive travel destinations in Bangladesh. Bandarban , or in Marma or Arakanese language as "Rwa-daw Mro" is also known as Arvumi or the Bohmong Circle (of the rest of the three hill districts Rangamati is the Chakma Circle, Raja Devasish Roy and Khagrachari is the Mong Circle, Raja Sachingprue Marma). Bandarban town is the home town of the Bohmong Chief (currently King, or Raja, U Cho Prue Marma) who is the head of the Marma population. It also is the administrative headquarters of Bandarban district, which has turned into one of the most exotic tourist attractions in Bangladesh.
Rangamati
Khagrachari : It is a part of the Chittagong Division and the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Its local name is "Chengmi". Khagrachari is also known as Phalang Htaung or the Mong Circle (of the rest of the three hill districts Rangamati is the Chakma Circle and Bandarban is the Bohmong Circle). There are many tourist places in Khagrachari like Alutila Cave, Alutila Tourists spot, Richhang waterfall,Yonged Buddha Bihar, Dighinala Touduchhori Waterfall and others.
