Lalmonirhat, Rangpur
Lalmonirhat
A long, narrow border district along the Teesta, home to the Tin Bigha Corridor and the Dahagram–Angarpota enclave, the Burimari land port and the Doani end of the Teesta Barrage.
Local food to try
Where to eat
Where to stay
Culture
Lalmonirhat sits at the heart of Bhawaiya country: this slow, lilting folk song, sung to the dotara, belongs to the land between Rangpur and Cooch Behar, and its songs of cart drivers, boatmen and longing are still sung here.
- Life on the Teesta’s chars follows the river: families farm the sandbanks in the dry season and move when floods and erosion reshape the land.
- The former chhitmahal communities carry a recent, living memory of statelessness and of the 2015 exchange.
History
Lalmonirhat stretches north-west along the Teesta, with India on three sides of much of its length. It was a subdivision of Rangpur until it became a district in 1984, and the town itself grew as a railway centre: it is the headquarters of one of Bangladesh Railway’s divisions.
The district’s most unusual history lies on its border. Until 2015, the land boundary here was dotted with chhitmahal — enclaves of one country surrounded by the other, a legacy of the old Cooch Behar princely state and Rangpur. Their residents lived for decades without easy access to schools, hospitals or the rule of law. Under the Land Boundary Agreement, the enclaves were exchanged on 31 July 2015, and their people became citizens of the country around them.
One Bangladeshi enclave was kept: Dahagram–Angarpota, linked to the mainland by the Tin Bigha Corridor, a narrow strip of Indian land leased to Bangladesh. Further north, Burimari is a busy land port facing Changrabandha in India.
Plan your visit
Best time to visit
October to March; winter mornings are cold and foggy, and the Teesta’s chars are best seen in the dry season
How to get there
- Bus: coaches from Dhaka run to Lalmonirhat via the Jamuna bridge and Rangpur, about 9–10 hours; some continue to Patgram and Burimari.
- Train: an intercity train runs from Dhaka to Lalmonirhat, and local trains continue towards Patgram and Burimari; check the current timetable.
- Air: the nearest airport is Saidpur, with flights from Dhaka; from there, continue by road via Rangpur or Nilphamari.
Getting around
- In Lalmonirhat town, use rickshaws and battery auto-rickshaws.
- Along the district, local buses and trains run north through Aditmari, Kaliganj and Hatibandha to Patgram and Burimari.
- From Patgram, take a CNG or battery auto-rickshaw to the Tin Bigha Corridor.
- On the Teesta, country boats cross to the chars; go with local boatmen and only in calm weather.