Chuadanga

About Chuadanga

Chuadanga lies on the western edge of Bangladesh, with the Indian state of West Bengal along its border. Kushtia is to the north and east, Jhenaidah to the south-east and Meherpur to the north-west. The land is flat, fertile Gangetic plain crossed by the Mathabhanga, Bhairab, Chitra, Nabaganga and Kumar rivers, many of which shrink to slow channels in the dry season.

It is one of the smallest districts in the country, with just four upazilas — Chuadanga Sadar, Alamdanga, Damurhuda and Jibannagar — but it punches above its size as a farm district. Chuadanga is among the leading producers of maize, betel leaf, vegetables and date-palm molasses, and its fields supply wholesale markets across the country.

Chuadanga is also known for its weather. In spring heatwaves the town regularly posts some of the highest temperatures in Bangladesh, and winters are noticeably colder than in the delta further south, which is exactly what the date palms need to give sweet sap.

History

Before 1947 the area belonged to Nadia district of undivided Bengal. After Partition it became part of the new Kushtia district, and Chuadanga was later made a subdivision; it became a separate district in 1984. In the nineteenth century the region was indigo country, and the ruined indigo factories at Gholdari and Karpasdanga are reminders of the planters and of the Indigo Revolt of 1859–60, in which local farmers took part.

The railway shaped modern Chuadanga. The line from Calcutta reached Darshana in the 1860s, and Darshana became the main rail gateway between eastern Bengal and Calcutta. In the 1930s Carew & Co. opened its sugar mill and distillery there. In 1971 Chuadanga served as an early headquarters of the liberation forces in the south-west, and at Natudah in Damurhuda eight freedom fighters killed in battle lie buried together in what is now called the Aat Kobor, the Eight Graves.

Economy and livelihoods

Agriculture employs most people. Beyond rice and jute, farmers grow maize, betel leaf, tobacco, bananas, vegetables, cotton and sugarcane for the Darshana mill. In winter thousands of date palms are tapped for juice that is boiled into gur, and the Sarojganj haat near Chuadanga town is one of the largest date-molasses markets in Bangladesh. The government seed and agricultural farm at Dattanagar in Jibannagar is a major source of improved seed. Carew & Co., run by the state sugar corporation, produces sugar along with the country’s only licensed spirits from its by-products.

Food, culture and festivals

Winter is the season to come. Gachhis climb date palms at dusk and collect the sap at dawn, roadside stalls sell fresh rosh in clay pots, and households make pitha with new gur. The region shares the Baul and folk-song tradition of neighbouring Kushtia, and village fairs bring jatra performances and music after the harvest.

The local speech is close to the standard Bangla of Nadia and Kushtia, and the food is simple farm cooking: fish from the Mathabhanga and its beels, seasonal vegetables, and sweets made with date molasses.

Places to visit in Chuadanga

1. Carew & Co., Darshana

   A sugar mill and distillery dating from the 1930s in Darshana, Damurhuda, still running under the state sugar corporation. Its old brick sheds, tall chimneys and leafy grounds make it a popular stop for visitors.

2. Darshana railway station and border crossing

   One of the oldest railway stations in the country, on the original line from Calcutta. It is the rail border point with India, through which the Dhaka–Kolkata Maitree Express passes.

3. Natudah Aat Kobor (Eight Graves)

   A memorial complex at Jagannathpur near Natudah in Damurhuda, where eight freedom fighters who fell in 1971 are buried side by side. A museum and gardens have been built around the graves.

4. Gholdari Jame Mosque

   A small, single-domed mosque in Alamdanga upazila that local records date to the late sixteenth century, making it among the oldest buildings in the district. It is still used for daily prayers.

5. Thakurpur Mosque

   A three-domed mosque built at the end of the seventeenth century, an example of late Mughal village architecture.

What Chuadanga is famous for

• Date palm molasses (khejur gur)
• Betel leaf
• Banana

How to get to Chuadanga

Chuadanga is on the broad-gauge line between Khulna and Ishwardi, so intercity trains such as the Chitra Express that run between Dhaka and Khulna via the Jamuna bridge stop at Chuadanga station; the journey takes roughly six to seven hours. Direct buses from Dhaka’s Gabtoli terminal take about six hours depending on the river crossing. Jashore airport, with daily flights from Dhaka, is about one and a half to two hours away by road.

Markets and haats

Sarojganj Haat

Near Chuadanga town, this haat is famous as one of the largest date-molasses markets in Bangladesh. From December to February traders from across the country buy liquid and patali gur here.

Chuadanga Boro Bazar

The main market of the district town, where vegetables, betel leaf, fish, spices and household goods change hands every day.

Chuadanga at a glance

Shops from Chuadanga on Midmart

No shop from Chuadanga is selling on Midmart yet.

Questions about Chuadanga

More districts in Khulna Division

• Bagerhat Khan Jahan’s mosque city on the edge of the Sundarbans
• Jashore The flower capital, home of date molasses and the Benapole gateway
• Jhenaidah Sultanate mosques, Naldanga temples and the giant banyan of Kaliganj
• Khulna River city of shrimp and the gateway to the Sundarbans
• Kushtia Land of Lalon and Tagore, tiler khaja and Kumarkhali handlooms
• Magura Raja Sitaram’s country of jute fields, pera sandesh and Khamarpara doi
• Meherpur Mujibnagar, where Bangladesh’s first government took its oath
• Narail S M Sultan’s Chitra river country, home of boat races and cricketers
• Satkhira Early mangoes, soft-shell crabs and the western Sundarbans