Habiganj

Habiganj

Habiganj is a major town and district headquarters located in the Sylhet Division of Bangladesh. Situated at coordinates 24.38044 and 91.41299 in the Asia/Dhaka timezone, the city functions within the national currency framework of BDT and utilizes Bengali (bn-BD) and English (en) as its languages.

Daily movement through the municipality and its broader district has historically intertwined with railway developments. During the colonial British rule of undivided British-India's Assam province, the Assam Bengal Railway established infrastructure connecting the district headquarters town to the Balla border via Shaistaganj junction. The 1928 inauguration of the Shaistaganj-Habiganj line added stations including Habiganj Bazar, Habiganj Court, Dhuliakhal, and Paikpara. Subsequent expansion in 1929 opened the Shaistaganj-Balla section, incorporating stops like Barkula, Shakir Muhammed, Sutang Bazar, Chunarughat, Amu Road, Assampara, and Balla. Coal-engined and later diesel-engine trains historically transported tea leaves from gardens across the region, carried refugees returning from India, and managed local passenger transit before operations were ultimately suspended in 2003.

Demographic recordings outline the residential scale of the area. According to the 2011 Bangladesh census, Habiganj city recorded 13,517 households and a total population of 69,512, which included 14,721 individuals under ten years of age, a literacy rate of 71.34 percent, and a sex ratio of 987 females per 1,000 males. The 2022 Bangladesh census documented a population of 85,628 alongside an 87.11 percent literacy rate. Broader administrative estimates place the population at approximately 88,760 residents.