Rangpur is one of the major cities in Bangladesh and Rangpur Division. Rangpur was declared a district headquarters on 16 December 1769, and established as a municipality in 1869, making it one of the oldest municipalities in Bangladesh. The municipal office building was erected in 1892 under the precedence Raja Janaki Ballav, Sen. Chairman of the municipality. During the period of 1890, "Shyama sundari khal" was excavated for improvement of the town. The Municipality is located in the north western part of Bangladesh. A Recently established public university of Bangladesh named "Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur" is situated in the southern part of the city. Previously, Rangpur was the headquarters of Greater Rangpur district. Later the Greater Rangpur district was broken down into the Rangpur, Kurigram, Nilphamari, Lalmonirhat and Gaibandha districts.