Introduction
Cox's Bazar (Bengali: কক্সবাজার) is a city, fishing port, tourism center and district headquarters in
southeastern Bangladesh. It is famous mostly for its long natural sandy
beach, and it is infamous for the largest refugee camp in the world. It is
located 150 km (93 mi) south of the divisional headquarter city
of Chittagong.
Cox's Bazar is also known by the name Panowa, which translates
literally as "yellow flower". Another old name was
"Palongkee".
The modern Cox's Bazar derives
its name from Captain Hiram Cox, an officer of the British East India Company, a
Superintendent of Palongkee outpost. To commemorate his role in refugee
rehabilitation work, a market was established and named after him.
The municipality covers an
area of 6.85 km2 (2.64 sq mi) with
27 mahallas and
9 wards and as of 2012 had a population of 51,918. Cox's Bazar is
connected by road and air with Chittagong.
History
From the early 9th century the greater Chittagong area,
including Cox's Bazar, was under the rule of Arakan kings
until its conquest by the Mughals in
1666 AD. 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 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 Cox's Bazar
originated 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. He succeeded Warren Hastings,
who became the Governor of Bengal following the British
East India Company Act in 1773. Cox embarked upon the task of rehabilitation
and settlement of the Arakanese refugees
in the area. He rehabilitated many refugees in the area, but died in 1799
before finishing his work. To commemorate him, a market was established and
named after him, called Cox's Bazar. Cox's Bazar was first established in 1854
and became a municipality in 1869.
After the Sepoy Mutiny in 1857, the British
East India Company was highly criticized on humanitarian grounds, especially for
its opium trade
monopoly over the Indian Sub-Continent. However, after its
dissolution on 1 January 1874, the company's assets, including its armed
forces were acquired by the British Crown.
After this takeover, Cox's Bazar was declared a district of the Bengal Province under the British
Crown.
Geography and Climate
Cox's Bazar has located 150 km (93 mi) south of the
divisional headquarter city of Chittagong.Cox's
Bazar town has an area of 6.85 km2 (2.64 sq mi),
and is bounded by Bakkhali River on the north and East, Bay of Bengal in
the West, and Jhilwanj Union in the south.
The beach in Cox's Bazar has a gentle slope
and with an unbroken length of 155 km (96 mi), it is often termed the
"longest natural unbroken sea beach" in the world.
The climate of Bangladesh is mostly determined by its location
in the tropical monsoon region: high temperature, heavy rainfall, and generally
excessive humidity, with distinct seasonal variations. The climate of Cox's Bazar
is mostly similar to the rest of the country. It is further characterized by
the location in the coastal area. The annual average temperature in Cox's Bazar
is a maximum of 34.8 °C (94.6 °F) and a minimum of 16.1 °C
(61.0 °F). The average amount of rainfall is 3,524 mm
(138.7 in).
Economy and Development
The major economic activity in Cox's Bazar is tourism. A number
of hotels, guest houses, and motels have been built in the city and coastal the region, and many people are involved in the service industry. Oysters, snails, pearls, and their ornaments are very
popular with tourists and people are involved in the transportation business
for tourists.
People are involved in fishing
and collecting seafood and sea products for their livelihood.[ Cox's Bazar is one of the few major spots for aquaculture
in Bangladesh. Along with Khulna,
it is considered a major source of revenue from foreign exchanges. Besides a
mix of small-scale agriculture, marine and inland
fishing and salt production are other industrial sources that play important
roles in the national economy.
In April 2007, as Bangladesh was connected to the submarine
cable network as a member of the SEA-ME-WE-4 Consortium,
Cox's Bazar was selected as the landing station of the submarine cable
Tourism
The beach in Cox's Bazar is
the main attraction of the town with an unbroken length of 155 km
(96 mi) also termed the "longest natural unbroken sea beach" in
the world. There are several 3 stars and 5-star hotels provide the exclusive beachside area with accessories for the tourist. Visitors in other hotels visit
Laboni beach which is the area of the beach closest to the town. Other than the
beach there are several places of interest near the town which can easily be
visited from the town center.[27]
·
Himchari National
Park: Himchari is located just south of Cox's Bazar town. It consists
of lush tropical rain forest, grasslands and trees, and features a number of
waterfalls, the biggest of which cascades down toward the sandy, sun-drenched
beach. The National Park was established in 1980 by the Government of
Bangladesh as a conservation area for research, education, and recreation. Once
it was the stomping grounds of herds of the Asian elephant. It is still home to a limited number of these
mammals.
·
Agenda Khyang: a
large Buddhist monastery, and a place revered by around 400,000 Buddhist people
of Cox's Bazar; and the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
The main sanctuary is posted on a series of round timber columns. It has a
prayer chamber and an assembly hall along with a repository of large and small
bronze Buddha images and a number of old manuscripts.
·
Ramu: about 10 km
(6 mi) from Cox's Bazar, is a village with a sizeable Buddhist
population. The village sells handicrafts and homemade cigars. There are monasteries,
khyangs and pagodas containing images of Buddha in bronze, gold and other
metals with precious stones. One of the temples, on the bank of the Baghkhali
river, houses relics and Burmese handicrafts, and also a large bronze statue of
Buddha measuring thirteen feet high which rests on a six feet high pedestal.
Weavers ply their trade in open workshops and craftsmen make handmade cigars in
their pagoda like houses.
·
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park:
Bangabandhu Sheikh MujibSafari Park is the first Safari Park in Bangladesh.
Dulahazara Safari Park was developed on an undulating landscape of around 2,224
acres (9.00 km2) of the area at Chakaria Upazila in Cox's Bazar District. The
nature of the forest is tropical evergreen and rich with Garjan, Boilam,
Telsur, and Chapalish along with herbs, shrubs, and creepers. Safari Park is a
declared protected area where the animals are kept in a fairly large area with a natural environment and visitors can easily see the animal whenever they visit
by bus, jeep or on foot. This park was established on the basis of the South Asian
model. This safari park is an extension of an animal sanctuary located along
the Chittagong-Cox's Bazar road about 50 km (30 mi) from Cox's Bazar
town. The sanctuary itself protects a large number of wild elephants that are
native to the area. In the safari park, there are domesticated elephants which
are available for a ride. Other animal attractions include lions, Bengal
tigers, Crocodiles, Bears, Chitals and lots of different types of birds and
monkeys.which is a wonderful project to attract the tourist.
The only aquarium in Bangladesh is in Cox's
Bazar. Attractions also include parasailing, water biking, beach biking, horse
riding, Cox Carnival circus show, Daria Nagar Ecopark, Cox's Bazar Development
Authority, numerous architectural attractions, Shishu Parks and numerous
photogenic sites. The largest safari park in the country, Bangabandhu Safari
Park, is nearby. There is a forest reserve at Teknaf which also has a cable car planned.
·
Inani Beach Inani is a stony beach near Cox's Bazar.
·
Darianagar a
beach with waterways flowing through it.
·
Radiant Fish
World Radiant Fish World is a sea aquarium.
Our another page Sajek Valley
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