Project
Open Khata
Our area's information — open to everyone, written by everyone.
Information everyone ought to know is often stuck in one person's memory, in an office file, or on a noticeboard not everyone can reach. Open Khata — khata is Bangla for notebook — brings it together in plain Bangla, readable on a phone. And it's written by the people who live here.
Where there's no information, rumour takes its place
Search online for Torapganj Hat and you'll find almost nothing. Yet the older people of the area know its story — and when they're gone, the story goes with them. The union's useful information is the same: the rules for services, the notices and the documents exist, but they don't reach ordinary people. Wherever the right information is missing, the wrong information spreads.
Our area's story
The history and the half-known stories of the area — in the words of the people who live here. It starts with two topics. Pick one and tell us what you know.
- Collecting now
The history of Torapganj Hat
When and how the market began — and how it has changed over the years.
Tell us about the hatWhat you could tell us
- When did the hat start, and who started it?
- Where does the name 'Torapganj' come from?
- Which days did it sit, and what was sold there in the old days?
- Do you have any old photos or papers?
- Collecting now
The history of Katuli Union
Katuli Union's villages, people and big events — the things nobody wrote down.
Tell us about KatuliWhat you could tell us
- Do you know how 'Katuli' got its name?
- Old schools, mosques, temples, ghats or roads — when was each one built?
- Do you remember a big flood or another major event?
- Which story from your village should everyone know?
- Taking suggestions
Suggest a topic
What can't you find information about that you should be able to? Tell us — the next topic comes from there.
Suggest a topicWhat you could tell us
- What about the area do you want to know, but can't find anywhere?
- Which service is hard to find out about — where it is, how to get it?
Easy to share — no writing needed
A voice message
Just say it on WhatsApp. It doesn't matter if you can't write.
A photo
Take a picture of an old photo, a deed, a signboard or a paper and send it.
In person
Can't do it by phone? Tell us — we'll arrange to sit down and listen.
Katuli Union · running
A separate websiteJonotar Khata — the people's notebook
An independent citizens' initiative — not a government website.
Everything useful about Katuli Union, in one place. How to get government services, which allowances you may be eligible for, useful numbers, local notices and your own ward's information — in plain Bangla. The union's budget, development works and original documents are part of it too. Like Open Khata it is about information, but it is a separate project on a separate website. We designed and built it.
- Service steps, papers and costs, in one place
- A few questions to find out which allowances you may be eligible for
- All information is taken from official documents, with the source shown
Our rules for what you share
- Sharing is entirely your choice.
- You decide whether your name appears. We never publish phone numbers.
- We check before publishing — against another person's account or a document. Anything we couldn't check is marked as a recollection, not as history.
- We don't publish accusations against anyone. Open Khata holds information and memories — not accusations.
- If you'd like, the person who shared it is credited by name, with thanks.
- You can ask for anything you shared to be taken down, at any time.
Where this stands
Jonotar Khata is running on its own website. Collecting the area's story has only just begun — nothing is published yet. What gets checked will be published here, on this page.