Motijheel

Not to be confused with Moti Jheel, a man-made lake in Kanpur, India and Motijheel Avenue, an area in North Kolkata, India.

Motijheel skyline

Motijheel (Bangla: মতিঝিল) is an administrative division (Thana) of Dhaka city, the capital of Bangladesh. It is situated at the heart of the city (the General Post Office is considered the zero point of Dhaka). Motijheel is the major business and commercial hub of Dhaka city and has more offices and business institutions than any other part of the city.^[1] It is the home to largest number of corporate headquarters in the nation. Many news, magazines, print and other media publishers are based here. Motijheel is also close to Kamalapur Railway Station, the main railway station of Dhaka.

Geography

Shapla Square monument – a prominent landmark in Motijheel

Motijheel Thana coversan area of 4.69 km², and is bounded by Khilgaon Thana in the north, Sutrapur and Kotwali (Dhaka) thanas in the south, Sabujbagh thana in the east, and Ramna Thana in the west.

Demographics

Motijheel has a population of 223,676; male 59.45%, female 40.55%; Muslim 95.57%, Hindu 3.96%, Christian 0.26%, ethnic nationals (Chakma) 0.10%, and others 0.11%. The Thana consists of five wards and 35 mahallas.

Offices and organizations

Motijheel Thana is considered the commercial area of Dhaka city. The head offices of many financial institutions including Bangladesh Bank, Sonali Bank, Pubali Bank, Agrani Bank, Janata Bank, Rupali Bank, Islami Bank, Eastern Bank Ltd, Basic Bank, Bangladesh Jiban Bima Corporation, Sadharan Bima Corporation, and the American Life Insurance Co., are located in the Motijheel area. In addition, the Power and Water Development Board, Rajuk (the Capital Development Authority) and the country's largest stock exchange, the Dhaka Stock Exchange(DSE) are situated in Motijheel. Important Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) here include BRAC (NGO), Grameen Bank, ACD, and the National Press Club. There are about 25 jute mills and 27 garment companies based in Motijheel.

Educational institutions

One of the best colleges in the country, Notre Dame College, is located in Motijheel. Other renowned educational institutions include Ideal School and College, Motijheel Government Boys' High School, and Motijheel Model High School and College.

Historical events

The Pakistani army ran into trouble when the freedom fighters destroyed the power house of the AGB colony near Kamalapur Railway Station in mid July, 1971.

Locally published newspapers and periodicals

A view of Motijheel area

The following newspapers and magazine publishers are based in Motijheel:

• The Daily Observer
• The Financial Express
• Daily Arthaniti (Economy)
• Daily Jugantar
• Daily Banglar Bani
• Daily Bartaman Bangla
• Daily Rupali
• Daily Samabesh
• Weekly Cinema
• The Daily Naya Diganta

See also

• Motijheel Thana
• Dhaka

Reference

1. ^ Banglapedia article

External links

• Banglapedia article on Motijheel