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Ghat usually a landing place at a riverbank or bank
of a pond which is used by people (particularly Hindus) for bathing and
other purification rituals. At the death of a Hindu, his/her nearest relations
perform some purification rituals like shaving and bathing at the bank
of a river
or pond. This ritual is canonically called ghat and from this term
has originated the general term ghat which is a place-name not only for
bathing but also for communication and businesses. For this instance it
is used as a landing place, where people and goods land from a boat
or ship; usually also considered as a river-side trading point, where
different river crafts such as country boats, steamers, launches can berth.
The size of ghat differs widely depending on the importance of
its location. For the traditional economy every major ghat was a pseudo-port
where merchandise were loaded and unloaded.
During Mughal period every substantive ghat was farmed out annually.
Such farmers were then known as ghatwals. A ghatwal used
to maintain his ghat and ensured security of the people visiting
it by boat or otherwise. For his services the ghatwal collected
fees from the users of the ghat.
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| Boats moored at a ghat |
Courtesy:
Md Johir Uddin |
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The system of leasing out ghats to farmers was abolished
under the Cornwallis Code of 1793. During the British period the most
important ghats of Dhaka city were Sadar Ghat, Zinjira Ghat, Sair Ghat
(now called Soari Ghat), Pagla Ghat and Mirpur Ghat.
Ferrying services developed at suitable points along
both sides of the big rivers for transporting vehicle, goods and people
are also called ghats. Aricha, Nagarbari, Daulatdia, Mawa and Bahadurabad
ghats of Bangladesh are the best examples of this type. [Mohd Shamsul
Alam]
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