This article is about the city. For the district, see Comilla District

Comilla
Nickname: Kamilla
Location of Comilla in Bangladesh
Coordinates: 23°27′N 91°12′E / 23.45, 91.2
Country	Bangladesh
Administrative District	Comilla District
Area
- City	km²  ( sq mi)
Population (2007)
- City
- Density	/km² (/sq mi)
Time zone	BST ([[UTC+6]])

Comilla (Bengali: কুমিল্লা) is a city in south-eastern Bangladesh. It is located in the Comilla District of Chittagong Division.

History

Comilla is a city near the India border. It has a population of 3 million. The city was ruled by Mughal emperors in the 17th century as well as the British East India Company in the 19th century. The city is famous for different types of sweets and Batik printed cloth. The people of Comilla are multi ethnic. The people are a mixture of Afghan and British to a small extent. Green and hazel eyes can easily be found in Comilla than anywhere else in Bangladesh.

Geography and climate

Civic administration

Comilla, as a district is administrated by the Deputy Commissioner (DC), who is the senior most government official of the district. The DC office is situated at Fauzdari area of the town. The District of Comilla has been divided into 12 sub-districts, they are Sadar, Homna, Laksham, Muradnagar, Devidwar, Daudkandi, Burichang, Barura, Chandina, Gowripur, Elliotganj, Chowddogram, Langolkot and Brahmanpara. Each sub-district has an SDO (Sub District Officer) as the administrator. The main town of Comilla is under the Sadar sub-district. Comilla also has a Central Jail which is one of the oldest jails of the country established during British rule. Comilla Cantonment is also one of most important military bases. This has been widely used by the British Indian Army during the World War II. There is a War Cemetery in Comilla which was established after the World War II. Comilla also has an Exporting Processing Zone (EPZ) at the east end of the town. This EPZ was once the airport of Comilla and now only the runway has existed where other establishments have been converted to instruments of the EPZ.

Land and economy

Demographics and culture

It is a highly muslim dominated area and one can find many economically backward people. Most of them are farmers who depend on their fields. A much smaller number of Hindus are present in this area. Every muslim festival is celebrated in big way. Especially Eid and Ramzan. Most of the Muslims are Sunni and few are Shia. There is no electricity in most of the area present in Commila. But things are changing fast. People now days pay attention to education especially for girl children. Now it has become a compulsion for the marriage that the bride should be at least higher school passed.

Transport

Comilla has better communication than any other districts of Bangladesh. One of the oldest highways of the Indian Sub-continent, 'The Grand Trunk Road' has approached through the main town of Comilla. In present, the most important Dhaka-Chittagong highway has its respective regular users who travel to Comilla. Comilla is 97 miles (155 kilometers) distant from the capital Dhaka. This can be travelled through both by road and by train. The train has a 197 kilometers distance from Dhaka which takes over 3 hours to reach destination, where by road it takes about 2 hours. Hundreds and thousands of trucks & lorries travel to or from Comilla for business purposes. Bus services are very well reputed in this route and the traveller is used to having a lot of choices to travel to Comilla. Prominent bus services to Comilla are Tisha, Asia Line, Prime, Prince etc.

Education

The Comilla Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education is located in Comilla. This is the central administration that conducts primary, secondary, and higher secondary education for several districts. Historically, Comilla Board administered the education system of the whole Chittagong Division, but recently, Chittagong and Sylhet Education boards were spun off.

Comilla is also the location for the Comilla Medical College, Comilla Cadet College and Comilla Zilla School, Our Lady of Fatima Girls High School, Nabab Fayzunnesa Girls High School, Comilla University, Comilla Victoria College, Teachers Training College, School of Millitary Intelligence, Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development (BARD).

Places of interest

Comilla has several places to be recognised as tourist spots and places of interest. The War Cemetery at Tiprabazar, Moynamoti, Comilla is a tourist spot which was established after World War II finished. The compound of Bangladesh Authority of Rural Development (BARD) is a well known place where people come on weekends with family. The place called "Neelar Chor" is a tourist spot inside the BARD compound. Another tourist spot of this area is at Kotbari, which has a beautiful open field as the Shooting Complex of Bangladesh Army. The main touuist spot of Comilla is the Moynamoti Buddha Bihar (Vihara) which has been recognized as a "World Heritage Spot". Moynamoti Buddha Bihar is a well known picnic spot where tourists from all over the country come on weekends.

References

External links

Coordinates: 23°27′N, 91°12′E

Cities of Bangladesh
Barisal • Bogra • Chittagong • Comilla • Dhaka • Faridpur • Jessore • Khulna • Mymensingh • Narayanganj • Rangpur • Rajshahi • Sylhet

Donate to Wikimedia