Uttara Model Town or simply Uttara ( romanised: Uttora) is a neighbourhood of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. The name derives from the Bengali word uttor meaning "north". It lies on the road to Gazipur, and adjoins Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.

History

Planning

In 1966, Dhaka Improvement Trust planned to build a satellite town under North Satellite Town project in Dhaka District. In 1980, DIT changed the project name into Uttara Residential Model Town Project.

First phase

RAJUK completed the first phase of the project in 1992. In this phase, Uttara had 6,000 plots. The total land for these plots was 950 acres. Completed sectors in 1st phase are Sector 1, Sector 2, Sector 3, Sector 4, Sector 5, Sector 6, Sector 7, Sector 8, Sector 9, and Sector 10.

Second phase

New phase started after the completion of first phase. Second phase took 6 years to complete. Completed sectors in 2nd phase are Sector 11, Sector 12, Sector 13, and Sector 14.

Third phase

During the course of the third phase circa 2,150 acres (8.7 km2) of land were acquired. About 10,000 residential plots and 225,512 apartments including amenities and urban facilities were provided. The estimated cost of third phase is Tk 23.16 billion. The deadline of the extension project was extended to June 2022. Planned sectors in 3rd phase are Sector 15, Sector 16, Sector 17, and Sector 18.

Demographics

At the 2011 Bangladesh census, Uttara had a population of 179,907. According to 2011 figures, males constitute 56.33% of the population and females 43.67%, and about 80% of the Uttara's population are adults. Uttara has an average literacy rate of 90.49% (7+ years).

Administration

Uttara is divided into administrative and geographical divisions named "Sectors". There are 18 sectors in Uttara. Every sector is under a sector welfare association. Uttara Association is the combination of these sector-wise associations. The Suburb of Uttara is under two wards (Ward no. 1 and Ward no. 51 ) of DNCC. Politically this area is under Dhaka-18 constituency.

Ward councillor

Geography

Inner Uttara

Outer Uttara

Private Housing

Economy

Uttara is a planned city and one of the elite suburbs in Dhaka. For that reason, and many other attractive features, Uttara is one of the most desirable residential areas in Dhaka. According to a survey conducted by B-property in 2019, Uttara is the first choice of Dhaka residents for living. Mr Nuswardi is a Chief Executive of the property website named B-Property. He said to BBC Bangla that this planned satellite town is an important place in the capital of Bangladesh which has all necessary amenities and services the residents need. In the future, more and more people will start living in Purbachal, which is located adjacent to the area so it is a plus point. Uttara is a popular destination for shooting Bangladeshi dramas. Sector 7 Bridge is a popular destination for street food lovers. Home to many street food vendors, the suburbs also house many posh, luxurious restaurants and fine-dinings. Residents from other parts of Dhaka visit these restaurants frequently. Uttara has a large number of educational institutions such as RAJUK Uttara Model College, Uttara High School and College, Milestone College, International University of Business Agriculture and Technology, Uttara University, Aeronautical Institute of Bangladesh. Uttara is also home to some of the city's most popular and prestigious schools of the English Medium curriculum such as Sunnydale, Sunbeams, Scholastica, International Hope School Bangladesh, Mastermind School.

Parks and recreation

Uttara Model Town has a total of 8 parks. Sectors 1, 2, 5, 8, 9 and 10 have no parks. There are numerous lakes in Uttara except in sectors 1, 2, 6, 8, 10 and 12. There is a children amusement park in sector 15 named Fantasy Island.

Transportation

Roads

Many bus services give various transportation services in Uttara. Many taxi services are available in this area such as Uber, Pathao, Shohoz, InDrive, etc.

Rail

Residents of Uttara use the Dhaka Airport Railway Station to travel. Situated opposite to Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, it is accessible via the Airport Road. At present, the MRT Line 6 of Dhaka Metro connects Diabari of Uttara to Agargaon. There are three metro stations in Uttara under MRT Line 6, these include: Uttara North, Uttara Centre and Uttara South.

Air

There is an airport situated in Kurmitola, Dhaka named Shahjalal International Airport. It can be accessed by the eight-lane Airport Road. To the north of the airport lies Uttara area and Gazipur city, while Dhaka city lies to its south. There is a railway station immediately outside (facing) the airport named Airport Railway Station.

Streets

Public institutions

Post Office

There is a sub-post office situated in sector 3. Its postal code is 1231 .

Fire Service

There is a fire service and civil defence station in Uttara.

Regional Passport Office

Uttara has RPO (Regional Passport Office) situated in sector 12.

Thanas

The neighbourhood of Uttara has six thanas (police stations).

Hospitals

Education

Schools

Colleges and universities

Medical colleges

Gallery