Tangail (, ) is a city of Tangail District in central

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

. A significant city in Bangladesh, Tangail lies on the bank of the Louhajang River, northwest of

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

, the nation's capital.

Etymology

''Tangail'' originates from the Bengali word ''tanga'', meaning horse carts; long lines of horse carts were standard in the area in the early 19th century, as these were the favoured mode of transport for passengers and cargo.

History

Tangail has been a local business center since the early 19th century. In 1860, Tangail became the 4th ranking area of the Greater Mymensingh district due to its fertile land near the Louhajong River. It was close to Begun Bari, Mymesningh. In 1969, Tangail District was established.

Tangail Airdrop

The Tangail Airdrop was a successful battalion-size operation by India's Para Commandos, mounted on 11 December 1971, by the 2nd Battalion (Special Operations) (2 PARA) of the Indian Army's Parachute Regiment during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 for the liberation of Bangladesh. The operation's main objective was capturing Poongli Bridge on the

Jamuna River The Jamuna River () is one of the three main rivers of Bangladesh. The two other major rivers in Bangladesh are the Padma and the Meghna. The Jamuna is the lower stream of the Brahmaputra River, which originates in Tibet as Yarlung Tsangpo, ...

, which would cut off the Pakistani 93rd Brigade, which was retreating from Mymensingh in the north to defend the capital of East Pakistan, Dhaka, and its approaches. The paratroop unit was also tasked with linking up with the advancing

Maratha Light Infantry The Maratha Light Infantry is a light infantry regiment of the Indian Army. It traces its lineage to the Bombay Sepoys, raised in 1768, making it the most senior light infantry regiment in the Indian Army. Recruitment The class composition o ...

on the ground to advance toward the East Pakistani capital. The Pourasabha (

municipal corporation Municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including (but not necessarily limited to) cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. The term can also be used to describe municipally o ...

) was established on 1 July 1887, and initially divided the city into five wards: This was later restructured into four wards - Ward No. 1 (Central), 2 (Betka), 3 (Dighulia), and 4 (Santosh) - and then, in 1988, into six wards with the addition of Wards 5 (Zila Sadar) and 6 (Kazipur). The first city election was held in November 1887, when the citizens elected eight ward commissioners from four wards. The Subdivision Commissioner of Tangail, Shashi Shekhar Dutt, was appointed as the first administrator of Tangail City. The city needed to be better developed, lacking paved roads and roadside lamps; subsequently, the regional

zamindar A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is the ...

s and subdivision board provided financial support to dig ponds, lakes, and

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...

s, creating a safe

water supply Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Th ...

. Electricity was established in the city in the early 1930s.

Paved road A road surface (British English) or pavement (North American English) is the durable surface material laid down on an area intended to sustain vehicular or foot traffic, such as a road or walkway. In the past, gravel road surfaces, macadam, ho ...

s were constructed in the 1960s, connecting the town to

. Simultaneously,

bridges A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somet ...

and culverts were installed. In 1985, Tangail was promoted from a ''C'' to a ''B Class'' city. In 1989, the Pourashava was promoted to ''A-Class''. In the 1990s, the city was financed by the

Asian Development Bank The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank to promote social and economic development in Asia. The bank is headquartered in Metro Manila, Philippines and maintains 31 field offices around the world. The bank was establishe ...

and the

Government of Bangladesh The government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh () is the central government of Bangladesh. The government was constituted by the Constitution of Bangladesh comprising the executive (the president, prime minister and cabinet), the ...

to develop

sanitation Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation systems ...

, wastewater drainage, bus terminals, supermarkets, and other infrastructure. In 1999, the city was restructured again into 18 wards (its current organization).

Wards

Tangail has an area of , divided into 18 wards and 64 mahallas. The Bangladeshi government is planning to expand the city to a total area of 81.75 km².

Geography and climate

The city of Tangail is in

Dhaka Division Dhaka Division () is an Divisions of Bangladesh, administrative division of Bangladesh. Dhaka serves as the capital city of Dhaka Division, the Dhaka District and Bangladesh. The division remains as a population magnet, and covers an area of 20, ...

, Central

. The town lies in a low-lying floodplain near the Jamuna River, south of the high plateau of the Madhupur tract. The average elevation of Tangail is 14 meters (49 feet). Tangail experiences a

Tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry "winter") and ''As'' (for a dry "summer"). The driest month has less than ...

''(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: Aw)'' with a hot, humid tropical

wet season The wet season (sometimes called the rainy season or monsoon season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Generally, the season lasts at least one month. The term ''green season'' is also sometimes used a ...

(monsoon season) and warm, dry

winter Winter is the coldest and darkest season of the year in temperate and polar climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Dif ...

with high humidity year-round. The yearly average temperature in Tangail is 27.5 °C, and the average rainfall is 1817 mm.

Demographics

According to the

2011 Bangladesh census In 2011, the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics conducted a national census in Bangladesh, which provided a provisional estimate of the total population of the country as 142,319,000. The previous decennial census was the 2001 census. Data were reco ...

, Tangail Paurashava had 37,607 households and a population of 167,412. 30,882 (18.45%) were under 10 years of age. Tangail has a literacy rate (age 7 and over) of 71.78%, compared to the national average of 59.5%, and a sex ratio of 976 females per 1000 males.

Sports

At the city's centre, the multipurpose Tangail Stadium regularly hosts sporting events. The stadium has hosted national events.

Transport

Bangabandhu Bridge, the second-longest bridge in Bangladesh, connects Tangail and Sirajganj. It takes approximately 1 hour and 55 minutes to reach Tangail from

(about 98 km away) via Kaliakair and Tongi. Several bus lines operate between Tangail and Dhaka's

Mohakhali Mohakhali () is a neighborhood of Dhaka city, the capital of Bangladesh. Mohakhali is one of the busiest places in Dhaka city. Mohakhali is bounded by Banani (neighbourhood), Banani in the north, Tejgaon Industrial Area Thana, Tejgoan area in the ...

(মহাখালী) bus terminal. The Nirala, Dhaleshwari, Jathika, and High Choice bus lines are among them. Tangail railway station offers travel to Dhaka and other cities within Bangladesh. The

inter-city Inter-city rail services are Express train, express trains that run services that connect cities over longer distances than Commuter rail, commuter or Regional rail, regional trains. They include rail services that are neither short-distance co ...

Ekota Express, Sundarban Express, Rangpur Express, Intercity Tangail Commuter and Sirajganj Express (among others) serve the station alongside

commuter rail Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...

and mail train services. Tangail Airport was opened in 1967 for agricultural purposes but has been unmaintained since 1976.

Traditional foods

* Chomchom is a well-known dessert from Tangail. *

Pineapple The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a Tropical vegetation, tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been culti ...

Parks

Tangail contains numerous parks, including Tangail Poura Uddan (one of the city's most-visited places), DC Lake, SP Park, and Soul Park. The town also contains part of the Madhupur National Park, one of Bangladesh's oldest

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

Education

Schools

* Bindu Basini Govt. Boys' High School (established in 1880 by

of Santosh of the famous Roy Chowdhury family) * Bindu Basini Govt. Girls' High School (established in 1882 by zamindar of Santosh of the Roy Chowdhury family) * Govt. Dhanbari Nawab Institution (established in 1910 by Syed Nawab Ali Chowdhury) famous zamindar of Dhanbari. He was also a founder member of Dhaka University * Miyavai International School and College, Madhupur (This school was established on 2 February 2022 by Boro Miya (Miya vai/Rasel Miya) of the famous Miya family of Madhupur.) * Police Lines High School * Sristy College of Tangail * Tangail Polytechnic * Santosh Jannabi Govt. High School * Vivekananda High School * Madhupur Shaheed Smriti Higher Secondary School & College, Madhupur * Govt.Rani Bhavani Pilot High School, Madhupur * A.R.L Memorial School and College,Madhupur * Belayet Hossain Bahumukhi Uchcha Bidyaloy, Nallapara, Delduar * Bharateshwari Homes, Mirzapur * B.A.F Shaheen College, Pahar Kanchanpur * Zila Sadar Girls' High School * Shibnath High School * P.T.I. High School * Shaheen School and College * Town Govt. Primary School * Tangail Pre–Cadet School * Bulbul Residential Model School, Tangail Sadar, Tangail * Athail Shimul High School Ghatail Tangail * Brammon Kushia Government Primary School, Brammon Kushia, Tangail * Bararia Suruj Bisweswari High School, Bararia, Tangail * Apon Pathshala, Tangail * Ghatail Cantonment Public School & College * Suti V.M Pilot High School, Gopalpur * Gopal Dighi K.P. Union High School, (Kaloha,Kalihat)

Higher education

* Mawlana Bhashani Science and Technology University, Santosh, Tangail * Tangail Medical College, Tangail * Kumudini Women's Medical College, Mirzapur * Mirzapur Cadet College * Major General Mahmudul Hassan Adarsha College * Sristy College of Tangail * Madhupur Shahid Smrity Higher Secondary School & College, Madhupur * Kumudini Government Mohila College * GRB University, Madhupur * A.R.L Memorial School and College * Hazi Giyash Uddin Medical College, Madhupur * Madhupur Assistant Medical Training Centre * Govt. Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib Mohila College * Tangail Polytechnic Institute * Vivekananda College * B.A.F Shaheen College, Pahar Kanchanpur * Govt. Saadat College, Karatia * Bangabandhu Textile Engineering College,(BTEC) Kalihati * Textile Institute of Tangail * M.M Ali College * Haji Abul Hossain Institute of Technology

Notable residents

* Syed Nawab Ali Chowdhury,

, founding member of

University of Dhaka The University of Dhaka (), also known as Dhaka University (DU), is a public university, public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Established in 1921, it is the oldest active university in the country. The University of Dhaka w ...

, education minister of United Bengal * Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani, Islamic scholar, political leader, and ex-president of the

Awami League The Awami League, officially known as Bangladesh Awami League, is a major List of political parties in Bangladesh, political party in Bangladesh. The oldest existing political party in the country, the party played the leading role in achievin ...

. * Shamsul Huq, the first general secretary of the

. * Abu Sayeed Chowdhury, the second president of Bangladesh. * Abdul Mannan, the home and family planning minister (1972–1975), MNA (1970), and MP (1996–2001). He established the Tangail General Hospital, Govt. Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib College, and Atia College. * Qader "Tiger" Siddiqi,

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

'' havildar,'' famed Mukti Bahini leader (decorated Bir Uttom) (MP 1999–2013), and founding leader of Krishak Sramik Janata League. * Mohammad Abdur Razzaque, member of parliament from Tangail-1 * Soto Monir, member of parliament from Tangail-2 *

Manna Manna (, ; ), sometimes or archaically spelled Mahna or Mana, is described in the Bible and the Quran as an edible substance that God in Abrahamic religions, God bestowed upon the Israelites while they were wandering the desert during the 40-year ...

, film actor and producer * Tarana Halim, M.P., film actress

References

External links

District portal of Tangail

Job circular of tangail
{{Authority control Populated places in Dhaka Division Populated places established in 1887 Municipalities of Bangladesh Populated places in Tangail District