Goalundo Ghat

{{short description|Town in Dhaka Division, Bangladesh}}

{{EngvarB|date=March 2017}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}

{{Infobox settlement

| official_name = Goalandaghat or Goalanda

| native_name = গোয়ালন্দঘাট

| settlement_type = Municipality

| image_skyline = Goalanda Ghat Faridpur Bangladesh (2).JPG

| imagesize =

| image_alt =

| image_caption = A view of Goalandaghat in Bangladesh

| pushpin_map = Bangladesh

| pushpin_label_position = right

| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Bangladesh

| coordinates = {{coord|23|{{#expr:.7333*60 round 1}}|N|89|{{#expr:.7611*60 round 1}}|E|type:adm3rd|display=inline,title}}

| subdivision_type = Country

| subdivision_name = {{flag|Bangladesh}}

| subdivision_type1 = Division

| subdivision_type2 = District

| subdivision_type3 = Upazila

| subdivision_name1 = Dhaka Division

| subdivision_name2 = Rajbari District

| subdivision_name3 = Goalandaghat Upazila

| leader_title =

| leader_name =

| leader_title1 =

| leader_name1 =

| area_total_km2 = 149.03

| area_metro_km2 =

| elevation_m =

| elevation_ft =

| population_total = 91675

| population_as_of = 1991

| population_footnotes =

| population_density_km2 = auto

| postal_code_type =

| postal_code =

| website =[http://www.bangladesh.gov.bd/maps/images/rajbari/Goalandaghat.gif Official Map of Goalandaghat]

| footnotes =

| timezone = BST

| utc_offset = +6

}}

File:Goalanda Ghat Faridpur Bangladesh (2).JPG

Goalundo Ghat (also spelled Goalanda and Goalondo; {{langx|bn|গোয়ালন্দঘাট}}) is a small town and pourasabha in Goalandaghat Upazila, Rajbari District, Dhaka Division, Bangladesh. There are two railway stops in the town, one at Goalundo Ghat and one at Goalundo Bazar.{{Cite web |url=http://sakai.jocv.net/pdf/rm_2001e.pdf |title="Bangladesh Railway Route Map" 2001 |access-date=27 April 2009 |archive-date=22 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181222190235/http://www.sakai.jocv.net/pdf/rm_2001e.pdf |url-status=dead }} The town has an area of 4.86 km2 and a population of 22,000 inhabitants (2001 estimate).[http://www.bbs.gov.bd/ Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics], results from census 23 January 2001. Data corrected upwards by 6.23 percent, according to officially estimated loss during the counting process, with the result rounded to the nearest thousand.

Historical significance

The Eastern Bengal Railway opened the line from Kolkata to Goalundo, on the southern bank of the Padma in 1871.{{cite web| url = http://irse.bravehost.com/IRHTML.htm| title = Indian Railway History timeline| last = R.P.Saxena| publisher = | accessdate = 10 December 2011| archive-url = https://archive.today/20120714085533/http://irse.bravehost.com/IRHTML.htm| archive-date = 14 July 2012| url-status = dead}} The Biswas Bari estate dominated the farmland around the river port. Goalundo was for many years a major transportation hub for travel in eastern parts of Bengal and Assam. Here is a brief on the importance of Goalundo Ghat in earlier years: “If one goes from Calcutta to Dacca the rail journey is broken at Goalundo and from there to Narayanganj is continued by steamer. The night mail from Calcutta deposits one at Goalundo in the early hours of the morning. It is situated at the junction of the Padma, or Ganges, and the Brahmaputra, and daily services of steamers connect it with the railway systems at Narayanganj and Chandpur, and with the steamer services to Madaripur, Barisal, Sylhet, and Cachar. There are also daily services of steamers up the Padma to Digha Ghat, Patna in the dry season, and Buxar in the rains, and up the Brahmaputra to Dibrugarh. From that it will be seen that Goalundo occupies a very strong strategic position in the waterways of Bengal, a position which has been made much stronger by railway development."{{cite web| url = http://www.irfca.org/docs/history/goalundo-hooghly-himalayas.html |title = Goalundo Ghat – From the Hooghly to the Himalayas (1913) |last= |first= | publisher=IRFCA | accessdate = 10 December 2011 }}

Even after partition of India in 1947, the East Bengal Express ran up to 1964. That was the last direct link with Kolkata.{{cite web| url = http://www.idsa-india.org/an-mar9-8.html | archive-url = https://archive.today/20120802180000/http://www.idsa-india.org/an-mar9-8.html | url-status = usurped | archive-date = 2 August 2012 |title = India-Bangladesh Transportation Links: A Move for Closer Cooperation |last= Sangeeta Thapliyal | publisher= | accessdate = 10 December 2011 }}{{cite web| url = http://www.irfca.org/faq/faq-inter.html |title = Geography – International |last= |first= | publisher= IRFCA| accessdate = 10 December 2011 }} The Goalundo Ghat railway link has since been used only for internal travel in Bangladesh.

Changing scenario

Bus/road travel has since gained primary importance in Bangladesh. Most people use buses for travel from Dhaka and other places to Benapole and then cross over the border for links to Kolkata.{{cite web| url = http://iguide.travel/Benapole/Getting_There |title =Getting to Benapole | publisher=i-guide | accessdate = 10 December 2011 }} For a long time road transport has been using the Daulatdia-Paturia ferry crossing nearby. The ferry also carries long-distance buses across the Padma.{{cite news |url = http://www.daily-sun.com//details_yes_11-12-2011_ds-dense-fog-disrupts-ferry-service-for-12-hrs_418_1_9_1_4.html |title = Dense fog disrupts ferry service for 12 hrs |work = Daily Sun |date = 11 December 2011 |accessdate = 15 December 2011 }}{{Dead link|date=June 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

The Government of Bangladesh has invited in November 2011 international tenders for the construction of the 6.1 km long second bridge across the Padma connecting Paturia and Daulatdia on a public-private partnership basis at a cost of 2 billion dollars.{{cite web | url = http://www.blogigo.com/bangladesh/Govt-invites-tender-for-2nd-Padma-Bridge-project/79/ | title = Government invites tender for 2nd Padma Bridge Project | publisher = Bangladesh, 19 November 2011 | accessdate = 15 December 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170312054608/http://www.blogigo.com/bangladesh/Govt-invites-tender-for-2nd-Padma-Bridge-project/79/ | archive-date = 12 March 2017 | url-status = dead }}

References

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