Dinajpur Ramsagor

Ramsagor is the biggest man made  water tank in Bangladesh, located at the village of Tejpur about 8 kilometers south of Dinajpur district. It can be approached from the town by a metaled road, which was once known as the ‘Murshidabad Sarak (road)’. The tank was named after Raja (king) Ram Nath who excavated it on the eve of the battle of PALASHI. At that time Alivardi Khan was the Nawab of Bengal. 

 

The tank was excavated to supply drinking water to the people living in the surrounding villages. It is said that there was a continuous drought and famine in this part of the country from 1750 to 1755 AD. 

Perhaps Ram Nath initiated to dig the tank on the basis of ‘food for work’ and help to survive the famine-stricken people. About 1.5 million labors worked for digging the Ramsagar and the total expense amounted is about 30,000 Taka.

The water area of Ramsagar measures 1079 meters along north-south and 192.6 meters along east-west. Approximate depth of the tank is 9.5 meters. There was a ghat on the middle of the western bank and the remains of it still exist. 

 

Made of sandstone slabs of different sizes, the structure measured about 45.8m by 18.3m. The tank is surrounded by 10.75m high embankments. Beyond the embankment the surrounding is a large plain area having some undulating landscape. 

Ramsagor is now a famous tourist spot under the care of Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation. Parjatan Corporation has taken some initiative for the beautification of the area. A rest-house has been constructed on the western side of the tank and some small recreation spots have been made for the children on the four sides of the huge water body. 

The name of Dinajpur Ramsagor is pronounced with that of the famous temple of Kantanagar/kantaji, the other historical place of Dinajpur.