History The southern Chittagong area, including Coxs Bazar, was under the rule of Arakan kings from the early ninth century until its conquest by the Mughals in 1666 AD.[6] When the Mughal Prince Shah Shuja was passing through the hilly terrain of the present-day Coxs Bazar on his way to Arakan, he was attracted to its scenic and captivating beauty. 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. The name Coxs Bazar originated from the name of a British East India Company officer, Captain Hiram Cox, who was appointed as the Superintendent of Palonki (todays Coxs Bazar) outpost. He succeeded Warren Hastings, who became the Governor of Bengal after the British East India Company Act in 1773. Cox was mobilised to deal with a century-long conflict between Arakan refugees and local Rakhine people at Palonki. The Captain had rehabilitated many refugees in the area but died in 1799 before he could finish his work. To commemorate that, a market was established and named after him, called Coxs Bazar (market of Cox). Coxs Bazar then was first established in 1854 and became a municipality in 1869.[6] After the Sepoy Mutiny (Indian Rebellion of 1857) in 1857, the British East India Company was highly criticised and questioned on humanitarian grounds, especially for its opium trade monopoly over the Indian Sub-Continent. However, after its dissolution on 1 January 1874, all of the companys assets including its Armed Forces were acquired by the British Crown. After this historic takeover, Coxs Bazar was declared a district of the Bengal Province under the British Crown. Coxs Bazar Map from Series U542, U.S. Army Map Service, 1955 After the end of British rule in 1947, Coxs Bazar became part of East Pakistan. Captain Advocate Fazlul Karim, the first Chairman (after independence from the British) of Coxs Baazar Municipality, established the Tamarisk Forest along the beach. He wanted to attract tourists as well as to protect the beach from tidal waves (tsunami). He donated much of his father-in-laws and his own lands as sites for constructing a Public Library and a Town Hall. He was inspired to build Coxs Baazar as a tourist spot after seeing beaches of Bombay and Karachi, and was a resort pioneer in developing Coxs Bazar as a destination. He founded a Maternity Hospital, the Stadium and the drainage system by procuring grants from the Ford Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation through correspondence. T. H. Matthews, the principal of the Dacca Engineering College (1949~1954), was a friend who had helped him in these fundraising efforts. Engineer Chandi Charan Das was the government civil engineer who had worked on all these projects. In 1959 the municipality was turned into a town committee.[6] In 1961 the erstwhile Geological Survey of Pakistan initiated investigation of radioactive minerals like monazite around the Coxs Bazar sea-beach area.[7] Coxs Bazar Bus Terminal In 1971, Coxs Bazar wharf was used as a naval port by the Pakistan Navys gunboats. This and the nearby airstrip of the Pakistan Air Force were the scene of intense shelling by the Indian Navy during the Bangladesh Liberation War. During the war, Pakistani soldiers killed many people in the town, including eminent lawyer Jnanendralal Chowdhury. The killing of two freedom fighters named Farhad and Subhash at Badar Mokam area is also recorded in history.[8] After the independence of Bangladesh, Coxs Bazar started to get administrative attention. In 1972 the town committee of Coxs Bazar was turned into a municipality. In 1975, The Government of Bangladesh established a pilot plant at Kalatali.[7] Later, in 1984 Coxs Bazar subdivision was promoted to a district, and five years later (in 1989) the Coxs Bazar municipality was elevated to B-grade.[6] In 1994 (jobs) the Marine Fisheries and Technology Station (MFTS) was established at Coxs Bazar. MFTS is a research station of Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute (BFRI) headquartered in Mymensingh. The station covers a land area of four hectares and contains five laboratories.[9] In April 2007 Bangladesh got connected to the submarine cable network as a member of the SEA-ME-WE 4 Consortium, as Coxs Bazar was selected as the landing station of the submarine cable.[10] In September 2012 the municipality was the site of the Coxs Bazar and Ramu riots, where local Muslims attacked the Buddhist community over an alleged Quran desecration posted to Facebook.[11] Geography and climate Panorama of Coxs Bazar in the early morning: clouds in a blue sky, still water and forest in the distance. Coxs Bazar town, with an area of 6.85 km², is located at 21°35′0″N 92°01′0″E and bounded by Bakkhali River on the north and East, Bay of Bengal in the West, and Jhilwanj Union in the south. The climate of Bangladesh is mostly determined by its location in the tropical monsoon region: high temperature, heavy rainfall, generally excessive humidity, and distinct seasonal variations.[12] The climate of Coxs Bazar is mostly similar to the that of rest of the country. It is further influenced by its location in the coastal area. The annual average temperature in Coxs Bazar remains at about a maximum of 34.8 °C and a minimum of 16.1 °C. The average amount of rainfall remains at 4,285 mm. [hide]Climate data for Coxs Bazar Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Record high °C (°F) 31 (88) 33 (91) 35 (95) 36 (97) 36 (97) 35 (95) 37 (99) 33 (91) 33 (91) 36 (97) 33 (91) 30 (86) 37 (99) Average high °C (°F) 26.7 (80.1) 28.5 (83.3) 30.9 (87.6) 32.1 (89.8) 32.3 (90.1) 30.7 (87.3) 30.0 (86) 30.2 (86.4) 31.6 (88.9) 31.6 (88.9) 30.0 (86) 27.5 (81.5) 30.2 (86.4) Daily mean °C (°F) 20.9 (69.6) 22.8 (73) 25.8 (78.4) 28.0 (82.4) 28.7 (83.7) 28.0 (82.4) 27.6 (81.7) 27.6 (81.7) 28.3 (82.9) 28.0 (82.4) 25.6 (78.1) 22.0 (71.6) 26.1 (79) Average low °C (°F) 15.0 (59) 17.0 (62.6) 20.7 (69.3) 23.9 (75) 25.1 (77.2) 25.2 (77.4) 25.1 (77.2) 25.0 (77) 25.0 (77) 24.3 (75.7) 21.1 (70) 16.5 (61.7) 22.0 (71.6) Record low °C (°F) 8 (46) 11 (52) 13 (55) 19 (66) 18 (64) 21 (70) 21 (70) 21 (70) 21 (70) 17 (63) 11 (52) 11 (52) 8 (46) Precipitation mm (inches) 0 (0) 10 (0.39) 30 (1.18) 100 (3.94) 320 (12.6) 790 (31.1) 900 (35.43) 700 (27.56) 380 (14.96) 180 (7.09) 80 (3.15) 20 (0.79) 3,550 (139.76) % humidity 71 69 72 74 78 86 88 89 86 80 74 73 78 Source: Weatherbase[13]
Posted on: Mon, 11 Aug 2014 08:41:38 +0000
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