Rangpur town, covering an area of around 43 square kilometers, lies on the bank of the Little Ghaghat River , and was turned into a municipality back in 1869 . The population of the Rangpur municipality as of 2006 is 251,699, with 52% male and 48% female, and the literacy rate is 54.6%.
Just south of the city of Rangpur lies the Tajhat , a former "rajbari" or zamindar's palace. After the end of the British Raj, the building was abandoned and decayed rapidly, although it was used for a few years as a courthouse during the 1980's. In the year 2004, it was largely restored and turned into a museum with ancient inscriptions, art and coins from the area on display.
Tajhat Rajbari Rangpur
The palace was built by Maharaja Kumar Gopal Lal Roy in the beginning of the 20th century. He was a descendent of a Hindu khatari who emigrated from Punjab . He was a jeweler by profession. It is believed that from the conspicuous appearance of his Taj or jeweled crown his estate derived the name of Tajhat.
