Dhamrai
|
Dhamrai ধামরাই |
|
|---|---|
| Upazila | |
 Dhamrai
|
|
| Coordinates: 23°54.5′N 90°13′E / 23.9083°N 90.217°ECoordinates: 23°54.5′N 90°13′E / 23.9083°N 90.217°E | |
| Country |
 Bangladesh
|
| Division | Dhaka Division |
| District | Dhaka District |
| Area | |
| • Total | 307.5 km2 (118.7 sq mi) |
| Population (1991) | |
| • Total | 312,777 |
| • Density | 1,017/km2 (2,630/sq mi) |
| Time zone | BST (UTC+6) |
| Website | Dhamrai Upazila |
Dhamrai (Bengali: ধামরাই) is an Upazila of Dhaka District in the Division of Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Dhamrai Upazila is located about 40 kilometers north west of the capital city of Dhaka. It is one of the six Upazilas of Dhaka district. The Upazila is surrounded by the Upazilas of Mirzapur and Kaliakair and Nagarpur on the north, Singair on the south, Savar in the east and Saturia on the west.
Dhamrai is located within the coordinates of 90.02 - 90.14E and 23.50 - 24.02E. The total area of Dhamrai Upazila is 307.4 km². It has 57,297 units of households. The Upazila consists of one municipality (Pouroshova), 16 unions and 398 villages.
Dhamrai Upazila is composed of the alluvium soil of the Bongshi and Dholesshori rivers. Other rivers are Kolmai and Gazikhali.
At 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%. The breakdown of Population is as follows:
Dhamrai has 16 Unions/Wards, 281 Mauzas/Mahallas/Mouzas, and 398 villages.
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.
Naming of Dhamrai:
There are two versions of how the name of Dhamrai came about:- (1) During the time of Asoka the Great there was a Buddhist "Dharmarajika" and the name became truncated and in time came to be known as Dhamrai. The discovery of a prehistoric Buddhist "stupa" in Savar, about 10 miles away from Dhamrai lends credence to this opinion. (2) A famous Sufi saint, Hazrat Shahjalal, came to what is now Bangladesh, about eight hundred years ago with 360 companions. Legend has it that five of them (Tirmizi Al-Hussaini, Hazrat Hazi, Hazrat Gazi, Hazrat Zambahadur and Hazrat Shah Magdum) came to Dhamrai area which was then sparsely populated and heavily forested. They settled and started leading a secluded life. Food supplies ultimately ran short and one day they found a stray cow wandering about. They slaughtered the cattle and used the meat to satisfy their hunger. After a few days a couple by the name of Dhama Gope and his wife Rai Goalini came and claimed that the cow was theirs. They demanded compensation for the cow. 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.
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