The N7 is a Bangladeshi national highway connecting the Daulatdia Ferry Terminal, on the south bank of the Padma River near the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, with the Port of Mongla in Bagerhat District. It serves some of the largest cities and towns in southwestern Bangladesh, including Faridpur, Magura, Jhenaidah, Jessore, and Khulna.[1] The highway is known along various stretches as the Dhaka–Khulna Highway, the Jessore-Khulna Highway, and the Khulna-Mongla Highway.

N7 shield}}
N7
Dhaka–Khulna Highway
Jashore - Khulna Road
Khulna–Mongla Road
[[File:Map|300px|alt=]]
Route information
Part of AH1 AH41
Length252 km[1] (157 mi)
Major junctions
Daulatdia endDaulatdia Ferry Terminal
Mongla endPort of Mongla
Location
CountryBangladesh
Highway system
N6 N8

Southwestern Bangladesh is laced with numerous rivers and streams, which results in N7 having the most bridges and culverts of any highway in the national system.[2] It is limited to two lanes of traffic for most of its length.

Route description

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The northern terminus of N7 is the Daulatdia Ferry Terminal, on the south bank of the Padma River.[2] Although sometimes called the Dhaka—Khulna Highway, the city of Dhaka lies across the river and 70 kilometres (43 mi) east of the end of the road. Long delays waiting to cross the river fuel the prostitution that makes Daulatdia the largest brothel in Bangladesh, and one of the largest in the world.[3][4][5]

Beginning at the ferry terminal, N7 goes southwest for 14 km before it turns southeast and parallels the river as far as the junction with N803 just west of Faridpur. Skirting the city, the highway turns west to Magura where N702 splits off. N7 continues west from Magura to Jhenaidah, a stretch that is the second deadliest in the national highway network.[1] It makes a three-quarters loop around the north and west sides of Jhenaidah, with N704 splitting off at Arappur and N703 going into the centre of the city, before N7 turns south to Jessore. The segment between Jhenaidah and Jessore is the busiest one on the highway.[2] At Palbari, just north of Jessore, N708 branches off. In Jessore N7 is rejoined by N702, and N706 splits off. Just south of Jessore, N707 merges at Murali.

N7 continues southeast, passing through Khulna, the largest city on the highway and the administrative headquarters of Khulna Division. N709 is a bypass that takes off from Phultala, north of Khulna, and rejoins south of the city at Kudir Battala, crossing the Rupsha River by bridge instead of, as the main road continues through the city including neighborhood like Daulatpur, Boikali, New Market. In KCC area most of part of this road is called Jashore Road. At Ferry Ghat more N7 change its alignment to Khan Jahan Ali road and continues to Rupsha ghat and crossing Rupsha river by ferry. The southern terminus of N7 is Bangladesh's second busiest seaport, the Port of Mongla, at the junction of the Mongla and Pasur Rivers.[2]

Junction list

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Division Location km Mile Destinations Notes
Dhaka Division Daulatdia Ferry connects to   N5 at Paturia Port
Goalanda   N701
Ahladipur   R710 to Rajbari
Faridpur   N804
Khulna Division Magura   N702 to Jashore
Jhenaidah   N712,   N703 &  N704 N712 to Arappur, N703 to Jhenaidah town and N704 to Dasuria
Hamdah   N712 to Arappur
Kaliganj   R748 to Kotchandpur
Palbari, Jashore   N707 to Jashore town
Chanchra, Jashore   N706 to Benapole
Murali, Jashore   N707 to Jashore town
Phultala   N709 Khulna City Bypass
Power House More   N760 to Satkhira
Ferry Ghat More   N710 to Old town
Rupsha Ghat
Ferry
Rupsha East
Kudir Battala   N709
Katakhali   N805 to Bhanga
Port of Mongla The route end at the port.

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Road Master Plan" (PDF). Bangladesh Roads and Highways Department. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d Sharkia, S.; Haque, M. N.; Bhuiya, M. S. K. (21 August 2015). "Structural condition assessment of bridges and culverts in national highway N7" (PDF). IABSE-JSCE Joint Conference on Advances in Bridge Engineering-III. International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering. pp. 427–430. ISBN 978-984-33-9313-5.
  3. ^ Hammond, Claudia (9 January 2008). "'I'm just here for survival'". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  4. ^ Jackman, Christine (26 October 2013). "Daughters of the brothel". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  5. ^ Rashid, Tania (4 February 2014). Sex, Slavery, and Drugs in Bangladesh (Television production). Vice News. 0:47 minutes in minutes in. Retrieved 11 February 2016. This is Daulatdia, the largest brothel in Bangladesh ... Daulatdia sits between a major railway station and a ferry terminal. Its location ensures a booming trade.