Sadarghat Launch Terminal: Dhaka's Historic River Port
The Main Launch terminal in Dhaka city is called Sadarghat. It is located in the southern part of Dhaka, on the river Buriganga. The terminal is the most crowded and busy area and the main waterways transportation hub for Dhaka in Bangladesh.
It is Dhaka city's main approach to the river Buriganga. Originally it was built in the mid-19th century on the east of Ahsan Manzil. BIWTA (Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority) is the central authority that maintains this launch terminal.
Sadarghat Launch Terminal
One of the largest river ports in the world, Sadarghat Launch Terminal, is located on the River Buriganga in the southern part of Dhaka. More than 50,000 people boarding around 200 large and small launches use the terminal for departure and arrival every day. The localities north of Sadarghat turned into a new city center when the offices of the magistrate and collector and many other agencies gradually moved eastwards to the areas near the terminal in the 1820s according to the officials concerned. If anyone wants to make a brief visit to Sadarghat, they will see a good number of launches and steamers, and commercial transports to the country's southern parts like Barisal and Patuakhali.
Although it is a very chaotic and dynamic river port, the place still attracts foreign tourists for its glorious past. At the terminal, the most eye-soothing scene is the play of hundreds of country boats laden with passengers and merchandise on the river. Many call it the heart of Dhaka as it carries the country's history and culture. But, it is very unfortunate that the world's largest river port has to witness some marine accidents almost every Eid celebration, the biggest religious festival for Muslims. Apart from all this, it is the lifeblood of the old part of the capital.
The opening of the Padma Bridge in June 2022 has transformed connectivity between Bangladesh's capital and the southwestern region. What once required hours-long launch journeys can now be covered in a fraction of the time by road. This has inevitably reduced the number of passengers using Sadarghat for long-distance travel, though the terminal remains active for short-distance river routes and retains its historical and cultural significance.
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