Morrelganj
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Morrelganj
Village in the Bagherhat subdivision of Khulna District, Bengal, situated in 22° 27' N. and 89*^ 52' E., on the Panguchi, 2^ miles above its confluence with the Baleswar or Haringhata, of which it is a feeder. Population (1901), 972. Morrelganj was formerly the property of Messrs. Morrel and Lightfoot, who converted this part of the country from impenetrable jungle into a prosperous rice-growing tract dotted with thriving villages. The river, which here is tidal, is about a quarter of a mile broad, with deep water from bank to bank, affording good holding ground for ships, with a well-sheltered anchorage.
It was declared a port by the Government of Bengal in November, 1869, and buoys were laid down in the following month ; but the effort to make it an entrepot for sea-going trade was not attended with success. Its position on a fine navigable river, commanding a rich rice country, still, however, renders it a great centre of local trade. It is an important steamer station of the Cachar-Sundarbans service.
