Cox's Bazar District

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Cox's Bazar District (Chittagong division) with an area of 2491.86 sq km,It is located at 21°35′0″N 92°01′0″E and is bounded by Chittagong district on the north, bay of Bengal on the south, Bandarban district, Arakan (Myanmer) and the Naf river on the east, the Bay of Bengal on the west. Annual average temperature maximum 34.8°C and minimum 16.1°C; annual rainfall 4285 mm. The district having been a coastal region often falls victim to sea storm, tidal bore, hurricane and cyclone. Main offshore islands: Maheshkhali, Kutubdia, Matarbari, Sonadia, Shah pari and St Martin's or Jinjira. Main rivers are the matamuhuri, bakkhali, Reju Khal, Naf, Maheshkhali channel and Kutubdia channel; Main forests areas are Phulchhari Range, Bhumaria-ghona Range, Meher-ghona Range, Bak Khali Range.

District (Town) Cox's Bazar municipality was constituted in 1869 and was turned into a town committee in 1959. The town committee was replaced by municipality in 1972 and it was elevated to B grade in 1989. The municipality covers an area of 6.85 sq km with 27 mahallas and 9 wards; population 60234; male 57.09%, female 42.91%. The literacy rate among the town people is 52.2%.

Cox's Bazar represents the longest unbroken sandy sea beach of the world (125 km) and charming forest belt. Cox's Bazar having been a great tourist resort various establishments have developed in the town including 6 big 4-star hotels, 30 medium hotels of 3 star, 50 semi-medium budget hotels. Jhinuk market for the tourists and the Burmese market dealing in luxury goods from Burma, Thailand and China are available.

Historical events: The Arab traders and preachers came to the ports of Chittagong and Akiab in the eighth century AD. The greater Chittagong including Cox's Bazar was under the rule of Harikela king Kantideva in the nineteenth century. The Arakan king Sulat Inga Chandra (930-975) captured Chittagong in 953 AD and since then Cox's Bazar had been a part of the kingdom of Arakan till its conquest by the Mughals in 1666 AD. The Mughal general Buzurg Umed Khan captured the Magh Fort on the southern bank of the Karnafuli and the Arakanise took shelter in the Ramu Fort, which was later surprised by the Mughals.

When the Mughal Prince Shah Shuja was passing through the hilly terrain of the present day Cox’s Bazar on his way to Arakan, he was attracted to the scenic and captivating beauty of the place. He commanded his forces to camp there. His retinue of one thousand palanquins stopped there for some time. A place named Dulahazara, meaning "one thousand palanquins", still exists in the area. After the Mughals, the place came under the control of the Tipras and the Arakanese, followed by the Portuguese and then the British.

Cox’s Bazar is also known by the name "Panowa," the literal translation of which means "yellow flower." Its other old name was "Palongkee." The modern Cox's Bazar derives its name from the name of a British East India Company officer, Captain Hiram Cox who was appointed as the Superintendent of Palonki (today's Cox's Bazar) outpost after Warren Hastings became the Governor of Bengal following the British East India Company Act in 1773. Captain Cox was especially mobilised to deal with a century long conflict between Arakan refugees & local Rakhains at Palonki. The Captain made significant progress in rehabilitation of refugees in the area. To commemorate his role in rehabilitation work a market / bazaar was established and was named after him as Cox's Bazaar (market of Cox). Cox's Bazar thana was first established in 1854 and a municipality was constituted in 1869.

After the end of British rule in 1947, Cox's Bazar remained as a part of East Pakistan. Captain Advocate Fazlul Karim, the first Chairman (after independence from the British) of Cox's Bazar Municipality established the Tamarisk Forest (Jhau tree) along the beach to draw tourist attention in this town and also to protect the beach from tidal waves. He also donated many of his own lands for establishing a Public Library and a Town Hall for the town. He was inspired to build Cox's Bazar as a tourist spot after seeing beaches of Bombay and Karachi, and one of the pioneers in developing Cox's Bazar as such. He founded a Maternity Hospital, the Stadium and the drainage system by procuring grants from the Ford Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation through correspondence.

In 1975, The Government of Bangladesh established a pilot plant at Kalatali, Cox's Bazar to assess the commercial viability of the heavy mineral content in the placer deposits of the area with the cooperation of the Australian Government. Later, in 1984 Cox's Bazar subdivision was promoted to a district.

Bangladesh got connected to the submarine cable network as a member of the SEA-ME-WE-4 Consortium, as Cox's Bazar was selected as the landing station of the submarine cable.

As of the 1991 Bangladesh census: Population 1757321; male 46.23%, female 53.77%; Muslim 92.13%, Hindu 5.6%, Buddhist 2.17%, Christian 0.06%, others 0.04%. Density of population per sq km is 705.

Religious institutions: Mosque 1626, temple 212, Buddhist keyang and pagoda 162, church 8, tomb 12.

Literacy and educational institutions: Average literacy 21.9%, male 28.2%, female 14.9%. Educational institutions: government college 4, non-government college 17, government high school 6, non-government high school 107, junior high school 8, madrasa 150, government primary school 376, non-government primary school 235, NGO operated primary school 22, primary teacher's training institute 1, technical training institute 1, kindergarten 9. Old institutions: Cox's Bazar Government High School (1874), Idgah Ideal High School (1928), Maizpara Government Primary School (1930), Qutubdia High School (1938), Teknaf Government Primary School (1890), Manikpur Burmeese Primary School (1828), Herbang Government Primary School (1884), Pekua Government Primary School (1918), Chakoria Government High School (1919), Saharbil Anwarul Ulum Senior Madrasa (1918), Maheskhali Government Vernacular School (1923).

Cultural organisations: Club 161, society and organisation 5, women's organisation 24, cooperative society 367, public library 5, theatre group 3, cinema hall 5.

Main occupations: Agriculture 25.64%, forestry 1.85%, fishing 4.01%, agricultural labourer 21.2%, wage labourer 7.64%, service 4.68%, commerce 15.14%, transport 1.86%, others 17.98%.

Land use: Cultivable land 79500 hectares, land for salt cultivation 13355 hectares, land for shrimp cultivation 24,114 hectares, forest area 91865 hectares, fallow land 8620 hectares; single crop 26.5%, double crop 61%, triple crop 12.5%; cultivable land under irrigation 64%.

Land control: Among the peasants, landless 46.5%, small peasant 27.5%, intermediate 19%, and 7% rich; cultivable land per head 0.06 hectare.

Main crops: Paddy, potato, pulse, onion, garlic, ginger, betel leaf, betel nut, wheat, sugarcane, ground nut, tobacco, rubber, vegetables.

Dairies, fisheries and poultries: Livestock 49, poultry 246, fishery 1458, shrimp 759, hatchery 47, dry fish processing 6.

Communication facilities- Roads: pucca 462 km, semi pucca 340 km and mud road 176 km; airport 1.

Manufactories: Rice mill 473, salt mill 38, ice factory 64, flour mill 145, fish processing industry 31, fish feed mill 1, saw mill 74, printing press 18.

Cottage industries: Weaving 851, brass work 33, garments industry 200, conch industry 50, welding 172, fish preservation centre 85, bamboo and cane work 9991, goldsmith 290, blacksmith 232, potteries 405, wood work 1141, tailoring 1766.

Mineral resources: natural gas, zircon, ilmenite, rutile, magnetite, monazite, coralline limestone.

NGO activities: Operationally important NGOs are caritas, Christian Commission for Development in Bangladesh, Prism Bangladesh, Gana-Svasthya Kendra, brac, asa, Ananda, proshika, Bangla-German Sampriti, World Vision, Concern, Islamic Relief Organisation, Muslim Aid, Al-Furkan Welfare Association, MSF (Holland), Red Crescent Society, CARE.

Health centre: Hospital 1, upazila health complex 7, mother and child care centre 1, TB clinic 1, satellite clinic 15, family planning centre 35, private hospital 5.