Bhola Island

Bhola Island (also called Dakhin Shahbazpur) is the largest island of Bangladesh with an area of 1441 km². It is most of the land area of Bhola District in Barisal Division.[2]

Bhola
River and flatlands of Bhola
Bhola
Bhola Island (Bangladesh)
Geography
LocationBay of Bengal
Coordinates22°30′N 90°45′E
Area1,441 km2 (556 sq mi)
Length90 km (56 mi)
Width25 km (15.5 mi)
Highest elevation1.83 m (6 ft)
Highest pointUnnamed
Administration
DivisionBarisal Division
DistrictBhola District
Demographics
DemonymBholaya
Population1,700,183 (2011)[1]
Pop. density1,179.86/km2 (3055.82/sq mi)
LanguagesBengali
Ethnic groupsBengalis

Geography
South Shahbajpur Island ( marked as DECCAN SHABAZPOUR l.) which is now Bhola Island in 1778 map by James Rennell

It is situated at the mouth of the Meghna River. There are ferry and launch services from Dhaka and Barisal.[3]

The Island is 130 kilometres (81 miles) long and has a population of 1.7 million. A 1776 map indicates that it was oval-shaped yet it is currently more elongated because of erosion by the Meghna River. It is only 6 feet (1.8 m) above ocean level at the most elevated point.[4][5]

Culture

According to the 2011 census, 96.7% are Muslim, 3.3% are Hindu.

Bhola Island is known for its Buffalo curd (doi) which is unique in Bangladesh. The process that has been used has remained unchanged. It is made in traditional clay pots and the process takes 18 hours. It is popular in the Island and is served in special occasions such as weddings, festivals and other special occasions.[6]

Power

The Island has faced chronic power issues, although natural gas was discovered in Shahbazpur in 1994. The government decided to build a Power Plant which is expected to fully operational by August 2015. The state owned Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB) is installing a high voltage transmission line from Bhola Island to Borhanuddin Island.[7]

Media

There are 14 community radio stations on air.[8]

History

In 1970 it was affected by the devastating Bhola Cyclone which completely devastated the southern half of the island and also destroyed the rice crop.

In 1995, half of the island became flooded, leaving 500,000 people homeless.[9]

In 2005, floods affected over half a million people on the island. Significant floods in the months and years before had caused severe erosion and led to a number of rivers overflowing. As of 2009 a number of the island's inhabitants were living in the slums of Dhaka.[10]

In 2019, riots erupted after a Hindu man from the island was accused of posting blasphemous content against the Prophet Muhammad. It was later discovered his account had been hacked to say such things by mischief makers wanting money.[11]

See also

References
  1. Bangladesh population and housing census 2011 : zila report Bhola. Bangladesh. Parisaṃkhyāna Byuro,, Bangladesh. Parisaṃkhyāna Byuro. Statistics and Informatics Division. [Dhaka]. ISBN 978-984-33-8653-3. OCLC 978250366.CS1 maint: others (link)
  2. Md Sakhaowat Hossain (2012). "Bhola District". In Sirajul Islam and Ahmed A. Jamal (ed.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
  3. "About Bhola Island". Bhola's Children. Archived from the original on 8 February 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  4. Doyle, Alister. "Sonar to help slow Bangladesh erosion in Ganges delta". reuters.com. Reuters. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  5. no more bidsdf
  6. Seraj, Shykh (19 March 2015). "Buffalo Curd: Heritage of Bhola". The Daily Star. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  7. Khan, Sharier (8 March 2015). "Big boost for Bhola". The Daily Star. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  8. Rahman, Jahangir. "Community radio as change agent". thefinancialexpress-db.com. The Financial Express. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  9. "In Flood-Prone Bangladesh, a Future That Floats", Emily Wax, Washington Post, September 27, 2007
  10. Catie Leary (16 October 2009). "7 places forever changed by eco-disasters: Bhola Island". Mother Nature Network. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  11. "4 killed, 50 injured as protesters clash with police over blasphemous Facebook post in Bangladesh". The Hindu. PTI. 2019-10-20. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2020-05-08.CS1 maint: others (link)


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