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Mymensingh

1911 Encyclopedia Britannica

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or Maimansingh, a district of British India, in the Dacca division of Eastern Bengal and Assam. It occupies a portion of the alluvial valley of the Brahmaputra east of the main channel (called the Jamuna) and north of Dacca. The administrative headquarters are at Nasirabad, sometimes called Mymensingh town. Area, 6332 sq. m. Pop. (1901), 3,915,068, showing an increase of 12.8% in the decade. The district is for the most part level and open, covered with well-cultivated fields, and intersected by numerous rivers. The Madhupur jungle is a slightly elevated tract, extending from the north of Dacca district into the heart of Mymensingh; its average height is about 60 ft. above the level of the surrounding country, and it nowhere exceeds ioo ft. The jungle contains abundance of sal, valuable both as timber and for charcoal. The only other elevated tract in the district is on the southern border, where the Susang hills rise. They are for the most part covered with thick thorny jungle, but in parts are barren and rocky. The Jamuna forms the western boundary of Mymensingh for a course of 94 m. It is navigable for large boats throughout the year; and during the rainy season it expands in many places to 5 or 6 m. in breadth. The Brahmaputra enters Mymensingh at its north-western corner near Karaibari, and flows south-east and south till it joins the Meghna a little below Bhairab Bazar. The gradual formation of chars and bars of sand in the upper part of its course has diverted the main volume of water into the present channel of the Jamuna, which has in consequence become of much more importance than the Brahmaputra proper. The Meghna only flows for a short distance through the south-east portion of the district, the eastern and south-eastern parts of which abound in marshes. The staple crops, of the country are rice, jute and oil-seeds. A branch line of the Eastern Bengal railway runs north from Dacca through Nasirabad, &c., to the Jamuna. The district was severely affected by the earthquake of the 12th of June 1897.