Lalmonirhat

About Lalmonirhat

Lalmonirhat is a long, thin district that runs north-west from the Teesta to the Indian border. West Bengal's Cooch Behar district wraps around it to the north and east, Rangpur lies to the south across the Teesta, Kurigram to the east and Nilphamari to the west. It is one of the smaller districts in Rangpur Division, covering about 1,247 square kilometres in five upazilas. The 2022 census counted roughly 1.43 million people.

Two rivers shape the land. The Teesta forms the south-western boundary for much of its length, and its chars are planted with maize, potatoes, peanuts and tobacco once the floodwater drops. The Dharla runs across the east of the district. Further north, Patgram reaches into India almost like a peninsula. Before the 2015 land-boundary agreement, Lalmonirhat had dozens of enclaves, more than any other district, and Dahagram–Angarpota is still joined to the mainland only by the Tin Bigha Corridor.

History

Nobody agrees on where the name came from. One story says railway workers found a red stone ("lal moni") while laying the line. Another credits a woman named Lalmoni, who either gave her land for the railway or, in a third version, died fighting beside the peasant leader Nuruldin in the 1783 uprising against the East India Company. The word "hat", meaning market, was added later. What is certain is that the modern town grew around the railway. Lalmonirhat became a key junction on the lines to Cooch Behar and Assam and is still the headquarters of a Bangladesh Railway division.

During the Second World War the Allies built a large airfield here to support the Burma campaign, and the long runways survive today. After Partition, Lalmonirhat was a subdivision of Rangpur until it became a district on 1 February 1984. The Tin Bigha Corridor, leased from India for Bangladeshi use in 1992 and open around the clock since 2011, ended decades of isolation for the people of Dahagram–Angarpota.

Economy and livelihoods

This is farm country. Rice, maize, potatoes, tobacco, wheat and jute cover most of the land, and maize from the Teesta chars has become a major cash crop, sold to poultry and fish-feed mills. The Teesta Barrage at Doani in Hatibandha diverts river water into a large irrigation project serving the greater Rangpur region. The Burimari land port in Patgram is the district's main link with India, Bhutan and Nepal. Trucks of stone, fruit and other goods pass through it every day. The railway workshops and offices remain an important employer in the town.

Food, culture and festivals

Lalmonirhat speaks Rangpuri Bangla and shares the Bhawaiya song tradition of the old Cooch Behar region. Its best-known literary figure is Sheikh Fazlal Karim, a poet and essayist from Kakina whose verse is still taught in schools. In the old bazaar of the district town, a mosque and a Kali temple stand side by side in one courtyard, and local people point to them as a symbol of their mixed heritage. Village fairs, boat races on the Teesta in the rainy season and winter pithas made from new rice mark the year.

Places to visit in Lalmonirhat

1. Teesta Barrage, Doani

   The country's largest irrigation barrage, at Doani in Hatibandha. In winter the gates hold back a broad sheet of water, and the walkway gives a view of the river with sandbanks stretching towards the border. Picnic groups come here throughout the dry season.

2. Tin Bigha Corridor and Dahagram

   A narrow strip of Indian land in Patgram that links Bangladesh's Dahagram–Angarpota with the mainland. Visitors can cross into Dahagram to see a community whose history was shaped by the border.

3. Burimari zero point

   The border crossing opposite Changrabandha in India, at the northern tip of Patgram. The flag ceremony and the busy trade yard make it a popular day trip.

4. Haranu Masjid (Lost Mosque), Ramdas

   The excavated remains of a very old mosque in Panchagram union, near Lalmonirhat town. A brick found here is said to bear the Hijri year 69, which would make it one of the earliest mosques in the region. Historians still debate the claim.

5. Kakina zamindar house

   The crumbling home of the Kakina estate in Kaliganj upazila, linked with poet Sheikh Fazlal Karim. It is a quiet place for anyone interested in the region's literary and landlord past.

What Lalmonirhat is famous for

• Teesta char maize
• Char-grown peanuts

How to get to Lalmonirhat

Lalmonirhat is roughly 340 km from Dhaka. Direct buses from Gabtoli, Kallyanpur and Mohakhali take about 8–9 hours via the Jamuna Bridge and Rangpur, then cross the Teesta. By rail, the Lalmoni Express from Kamalapur reaches Lalmonirhat junction in about 10 hours, and the Burimari Express continues to the border at Burimari. The nearest airport is Saidpur, about one and a half to two hours away by road.

Markets and haats

Burimari land port bazaar

The border market at Burimari is busy with traders, truckers and travellers. It sells imported fruit, stone and everyday goods brought in from India and Bhutan.

Puran Bazar, Lalmonirhat town

The old market of the district town, near the railway, where the mosque and temple share a courtyard. Grocers and cloth shops here supply the surrounding villages.

Lalmonirhat at a glance

Shops from Lalmonirhat on Midmart

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Questions about Lalmonirhat

More districts in Rangpur Division

• Dinajpur Terracotta temples, Kataribhog rice and the litchi capital of Bangladesh
• Gaibandha Char country on the Brahmaputra, home of rasmanjari and winter knitwear
• Kurigram Where the Brahmaputra enters Bangladesh, a land of rivers, chars and Bhawaiya
• Nilphamari Old indigo country, Saidpur's railway workshop and the north's industrial edge
• Panchagarh Bangladesh's northern tip, with flatland tea gardens and Kanchenjunga on the horizon
• Rangpur Capital of the north, home of shataranji rugs, Haribhanga mangoes and Begum Rokeya
• Thakurgaon The wheat basket of Bangladesh, home of Suryapuri mangoes and a giant old mango tree