The time is 19th century, British rule. A train from Ranaghat in West Bengal, on a broad gauge railway line built by the Eastern Bengal Railway Company, halted at a railway station in Kushtia, named ‘Jagati’. On November 15, 1862, the first train ran in the current territory of Bangladesh. At that time, the British started railways in India only for economic purposes. Because this area became important for trade. So railway line and station were built at Jagati just 3 km from Kushtia district town of Bangladesh. Later when ‘Kushtia Sugar Mill’ was established, this railway station was used to supply sugarcane.
Due to this railway station, the once rural world became lively. Here’s the light. All day there was a crowd of people and business was done. From time to time, a British-made steam train would rush to Calcutta or Goalondo with a whistle. Now they are just pictures. Due to lack of reforms, no train stops except two local trains in the dilapidated world. No busyness. Everything that is there is going to waste.
The beautiful two-storied building and other structures stand as a witness of time. The more than one and a half hundred year old station was once bustling and buzzing all day long but is now lifeless. Officially no train stops. So the bell does not ring, tickets are not sold. The bell from that time is still hanging in front of the stationmaster’s room. The room is closed. But sometimes it opens.
There is another new building next to the old station building. There two rooms were found locked. When talking to the local residents, they say that there is no place to sit, no lights, no water, no toilets, many problems have to be faced.
Along with the establishment of Jagati railway station by the British government, some other infrastructures were built here. But with the evolution of time, they are only memories today. The waiting room of the station has collapsed. Bricks and masonry on the platform have deteriorated. Weeds have grown on the roof of the two-storey building of the unrenovated station. Two large volume overhead water tanks built on both sides of the platform to feed water to the steam engines of the railway have already been abandoned. In both the tanks, at that time, water was extracted from underground by coal engine driven pumps.
Meanwhile, there is pent-up anger among the locals because this station, the first of the country’s tradition that has survived as a witness of time, has not been modernized. The long-standing demand of the local residents is to bring back the lost beauty of the station with modernization under the development project.
Birth of Pakistan from British India, Bangladesh from Pakistan. Along with these changes, the railway also started to change. Currently, Bangladesh Railway continues to carry that past tradition. The railway lines extended in various parts of the country by a long route have touched the roaring water in all the south. And Metrorail has started a new revolution. We will surely remember the glory of the past during this progress.
How to go : Buses go directly to Majampur in Kushtia. You can get these buses from Dhaka Gabtali or Kalyanpur to Kushtia. You can easily get an auto/rickshaw from Majampur to go to Jagati station.
Kids Friendly : No
Wheelchair Accessibility : No
Google Map Location : https://maps.app.goo.gl/1jA1KX4mDpM4o4fG7
Best time to go : The best time to visit anytime other than rainy day.
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