Old bridge, called Dullalpur pul, Panama, 1872’s Sonargaon. 2732c

Old bridge, called Dullalpur pul, Panama, 1872’s Sonargaon. 2732c

Old bridge, called Dullalpur pul, Panama, 1872’s Sonargaon. 2732c

Photograph of Dullalpur pul, Painam, Sonargaon, near Dhaka in Bangladesh, from the Archaeological Survey of India Collections, taken by W. Brennand in 1872. Painam, Panam or Panamnagar is situated in Bangladesh close to the banks of the Meghna River, 15 miles east of Dacca. Panam was perhaps the residence of the early Muslim governors of Eastern Bengal whose capital was at Sonargaon, a thriving port and commercial centre nearby. The city was later a centre of trade in cotton fabrics carried out by the East India Company. The brick bridge in this view is described in J. Wise, Notes on Sunargaon, Eastern Bengal (Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. XLIII, part I, Calcutta, 1874), p. 91: 'Painam, although a most singular village, possesses few ancient buildings. There is, however, a fine Muhammadan bridge of three arches, called the Dallalpur pul, over which the road goes to the Kampani ka kot'hi.'