Uttara (town)
Uttara Model Town or simply Uttara () is a suburb of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. The name derives from the Bengali word "uttar" 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 RAJUK allotted 6,000 plots of different sizes on 950 acres of  land. 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. Second phase of Uttara Model Town was started in 1992 and was completed in 1998. 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 and geography. Uttara is divided by administrative and geographical division named Sector. There are 18 sectors in Uttara. Every sector is under a sector welfare  association. Uttara Association consisting of Uttara Sector Welfare Associations. Suburban of Uttara is under Ward no. 1 and Ward no. 51 of Dhaka North City Corporation. Politically this area is under Dhaka-18 constituency. Economy. Uttara is a planned city and one of elite suburbs in Dhaka. For that and many attractive features, Uttara is one of desirable places in Dhaka. According to a survey conducted by B-property in 2019, Uttara is the first choice of Dhaka residents for living. Mr Nuswardi, Chief Executive of B-Property, said the price of apartments in Uttara was also rising day by day  due to demand. He added that, "In the next ten years, Dhaka will be shifted to Purbachal which is very close to Uttara. Metro-rail from Uttara to Motijheel will start in a few years. Also, the area is close to the airport. Many businesses are moving north. As a result, people are choosing Uttara to stay." Uttara is popular for shooting Bangladeshi dramas. Most of the dramas are shot in this suburb. A variety of street food outlets have sprung up around the bridge in Sector 7. There is Fuchka, Chatpati, Yogurt Fuchka, Chicken Fry, Chicken Spicy, French Fry , Salted Cake, Chicken Roll, Noodles and Coffee Corner. There are many restaurants in Uttara. Many people visit these restaurants to eat. Parks and recreation. Uttara Model Town has 8 parks. They are reside in sector 3, 4, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13 and 14. Also there are beautiful lakes in sector 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 and 14. There are two children's recreation center named Fun park and Electrofun. There is a children amusement park in sector 15 named Fantasy Island. Transportation. Roads. Many bus services give various transportation service in Uttara. Many taxi services are available in  this town such as Uber, Shohoz etc. Rail. Residents of Uttara use Dhaka Airport Railway Station to travel any nearer or remote area for various purposes. Situated opposite to Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, it can be accessed from the Airport Road. The first route of Dhaka Metro Rail under construction, originally projected to start from Uttara, to Sayedabad, in the south of the capital, was eventually extended north to Uttara and truncated south to Motijheel. Initiatives have been taken to extend the line from Motijheel to Kamalapur. Three metro stations will be built in Uttara, they includes: Uttara North, Uttara  Center 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. Public institutions. Post Office. There is a sub-post office situated in sector 3. Its postal code is 1230. Regional Passport Office. Uttara has RPO (Regional Passport Office) situated in sector 12. Thanas. The town of Uttara has two thanas  (police stations). Hospitals. In Uttara, there are many hospitals. There is a government hospital named Kuwait Bangladesh Friendship Government Hospital situated in sector 6.