Chittagong

Chittagong (/caṭagrām/ (?·i)of the Bengali: tarios্) is the second largest city in Bangladesh. It is located in the eastern part of the country, near the border with Burma. The city was built on the banks of the Karnaphuli River. It is the largest seaport in the country, being the main point for foreign trade.

It has had a university since 1966. A large number of Christians still live in the old Portuguese neighborhood of Paterghatta. Chittagong is a city close to the world's largest natural beach, Cox's Bazar, 120 kilometers long.

History

Chittagong rose to importance with the arrival of the Portuguese, for whom it represented an important port city. In the 18th century the British East India Company occupied the area. Nominally it was still part of the Kingdom of Arakan. It was later claimed by the King of Burma, giving rise to the First Burmese War in 1824. Since then, it has been under full British rule. In 1947 it was integrated into East Pakistan until the independence of Bangladesh in 1971.

On April 29, 1991, the Chittagong district was devastated by a cyclone with 250 km/h winds. Some 138,000 people died and some 10 million were left homeless.

Economy

The Chittagong dismantling center employs more than 200,000 people. Without proper health and safety regulations, workers who disassemble used products to salvage materials for $1.5 a day risk poisoning or injury. On average, nine hundred workers die each month.

Pollution

Chittagong Harbor is also known for being a ghostly "graveyard" in which a multitude of workers are scrapping the large ships that sail the seas piece by piece. These ships carry large amounts of toxic materials such as asbestos (5 or 6 tons on average per ship), paints with lead and cadmium, which seriously affect the mental health of tens of thousands of workers, mainly from India and Bangladesh.. Scrapyard workers breathe unprotected fine asbestos fibers, at the same time that they cause cancer and respiratory diseases. Chittagong port is also known to be the world's most polluted concentration site.

Twinned cities

• Kunming (China)
• Vientiane (Laos)