N7 (Bangladesh)

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.

National Highway 7
Dhaka–Khulna Highway Daulatdia–Mongla Highway Khulna–Mongla Road
Route information
Part of
Length	252 km[1] (157 mi)
Major junctions
Daulatdia end	Daulatdia Ferry Terminal
Mongla end	Port of Mongla
Highway system
Roads in Bangladesh ← 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

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 does, 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

Division	Location	km	Mile	Destinations	Notes
Dhaka Division	Daulatdia Ferry Terminal				Ferry connects to N5 N5 at Paturia Port
	Goalchamot, Faridpur			N803 N803
Khulna Division	Magura			N702 N702 – Jessore
	Arappur			N704 N704 – Kushtia
	Jhenaidah			N703 N703
	Palbari			N707 N707, N708 N708
	Jessore			N702 N702 – Magura N706 N706 – Indian border
	Murali			N707 N707
	Phultala			N709 N709 – Khulna Bypass
	Khulna			Ferry
	Kudir Battala			N709 N709 – Khulna Bypass
	Port of Mongla

References

1. "Road Master Plan" (PDF). Bangladesh Roads and Highways Department. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
2. 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.