NOAKHALI

port city, southern Bangladesh, on the Noakhali Watercourse near the Meghna Estuary as it empties into the Bay of Bengal. The port is connected by road and rail with Comilla and by steamer with Barisal. Industries include cotton weaving. Formerly called Sudharam, the city was constituted a municipality in 1876 and contains several government colleges affiliated with the University of Dhaka. Around Noakhali on three sides is an alluvial plain that is annually inundated and fertilized by silt deposits from the Meghna Estuary; the area is broken only by a hilly tract in the northeast known as Baraiyadhala. Rice, jute, oilseeds, pulses, betel nuts, chilies, and sugarcane are the chief local crops. Pop. (1991 prelim.) 73,766.