Maps of Dhaka City and Bangladesh Transport System

(L) Bangladesh- Population Density; (R) Bangladesh Administrative Map

(L) Bangladesh- Transport Network Map; (R) Bangladesh Rivers

(L) Bangladesh- Flood Affected Area; (R) Cyclone affected Zone

(L) Map- Climatic Zone; (R) Map Forest zone
(map ref: http://www.bangladesh.gov.bd/)

 
 

Dhaka City map - pre Mughal period


Bengal: from '1776 Rennell / Dury Map of Bihar & Bengal (save and zoom to read)

- one of the first accurate maps of the interior, laid out from primary surveys done by James Rennell, the first modern cartographer to map the interior of India.

http://www.geographicus-archive.com/P/AntiqueMap/BaharBengal-dury-1776

adopted from Rennell's Map of Dhaka

Rivers East Bengal- Rennell's Map of 1776 AD

adopted from James Rennell's Map of Bengal showing Inland Navigation (1776)

Rennel's Dhaka City map of late 18th century

Dhaka City map in 1859- under British Occupation

Dhaka City Map- Capital of East Bengal and Assam during 1905-11

Dhaka City Map of 1914

Dhaka City map - fag end of British rule
(map ref: Wikipedia)

Dhaka rivers and canals (daily star)

76,000 buildings in Dhaka are in high risk to a magnitude 7 earthquake,


Dhaka city Image / Googles Earth Station Map of Dhaka
http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/map/google_map_Dhaka.htm
L: Dhaka Map of RAJUK website---R: Dhaka City Divide (N & S)

 DAP (Detailed Area Plan) area is 1528 sq. km or 590 sq. miles which covers the total RAJUK's jurisdiction area, plus

• Gazipur Municipality to the North
• Dhaleshawri River to the south
• Bangshi and Dhaleshawri River to the west
• Shitalakkhya and Meghna River to the East

http://www.rajukdhaka.gov.bd/rajuk/dapHome

Mapping of Bengal:


James Rennell (1742-1830) was born in Devonshire, England became a geographer and marine engineer and made an exploration of the Bengal river basins and mapped them for the first time. To facilitate commercial navigation, Henry Vansittart, governor of the Fort William, Calcutta gave him a commission in Bengal Engineers of the Company's army and entrusted him with the specific responsibility of making a survey of the major rivers of Bengal and their tributaries. After the company's acquisition of the Diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa (1765), the need for such a survey was more keenly felt. Governor Robert Clive thus established a regular survey department in 1767 with James Rennell as its Surveyor General.

By the time, of course, Rennell had largely completed his explorations of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna river-systems. Dhaka was his operational headquarters. Originally, Rennell was employed for only surveying the Ganges delta with the special objective of finding a shorter passage suitable for large vessels from the Ganges to Calcutta, than that through the Sundarbans and the Meghna. His daily journal gives a detailed account of this voyage and of three subsequent expeditions, during which he surveyed greater part of northern and eastern Bengal, penetrating beyond Goalpara in Assam. Inadequately equipped, he was attacked by tigers, reptiles, dacoits and hostile people many times as he completed the survey within a span of three years with the help of only four assistants. It was while he was engaged on this duty on the frontier of Kuch Behar that he was attacked and severely wounded by a party of the rebellious followers of Fakir Majnu Shah.

His expeditions were so satisfactorily made that later the Survey of India found his identifications remarkably accurate. To all users — academic, administrative and navigational, Rennell's Atlas was the dependable guide until professional maps were made available in mid 19th century. Rennell's second great work was the first approximately correct map of India. The map was accompanied by a Memoir (1783) containing a full account of the plan on which it was executed. Rennell retired from the service in 1776 shortly after being promoted to the rank of Major in the Bengal Engineers. His Bengal Atlas, published in 1779, was a work of the highest importance from commercial, military and administrative points of view. To all users - academic, administrative and navigational, Rennell's Atlas was the dependable guide until professional maps were made available in mid 19th century (ref: Banglapedia).

It's a pity that Government, Tourism (Parjatan corp) or Dhaka City Corporation has yet to come up with interactive digital map of Dhaka city with images, landmarks and road networks- 'ward by ward'. The Dhaka city maps commercially printed by private firms "The Mappe" or "Graphosman"is too concise and do not show details of road network and landmarks of greater Dhaka.