View source for Pirganj Upazila (Rangpur District)

'''Pirganj Upazila''' ([[Rangpur District|rangpur district]])  area 411.34 sq km, located in between 25°18' and 25°31' north latitudes and in between 89°08' and 89°25' east longitudes. It is bounded by [[Mithapukur Upazila|mithapukur]] upazila on the north, [[Palashbari Upazila|palashbari]], [[Ghoraghat Upazila|ghoraghat]] and [[Nawabganj Sadar Upazila|nawabganj sadar]] ([[Dinajpur District|dinajpur]]) upazilas on the south, [[Sadullapur Upazila|sadullapur]] upazila on the east, Mithapukur, Nawabganj Sadar (Dinajpur) and Ghoraghat upazilas on the west.

''Population'' Total 385499; male 192025, female 193474; Muslim 354869, Hindu 24980, Buddhist 194, Christian 2252 and others 3204.

''Water bodies'' Main river: [[Karatoya River|karatoya]], Jamuneshwari, Akhira;' Pirganj is called the upazila of beel.

''Administration'' Pirganj Thana, now an upazila, was formed in 1910.

{| class="table table-bordered table-hover"
|-
| colspan="9" | Upazila
|-
| rowspan="2" | Municipality || rowspan="2" | Union || rowspan="2" | Mouza || rowspan="2" | Village || colspan="2" | Population || rowspan="2" | Density (per sq km) || colspan="2" | Literacy rate (%)
|- 
| Urban || Rural || | Urban || Rural
|-
| - || 15 || 308 || 332 || 14993 || 370506 || 937 || 65.1 || 44.5

|}

{| class="table table-bordered table-hover"
|-
| colspan="9" | Upazila Town
|-
| 
Area
(sq km)

| 
Mouza

| 
Population

| 
Density (per
sq km)

| 
Literacy rate (%)

|-
| 6.25 || 6 || 14993 || 2399 || 65.1

|}

{| class="table table-bordered table-hover"
| colspan="5" | Union
|- 
| rowspan="2" | Name of union and GO code  || rowspan="2" | Area (acre) || colspan="2" | Population || rowspan="2" | Literacy rate (%)
|-
| Male || Female

|-
| Kabilpur 47 || 7508 || 15535  || 15552 || 44.0
|-
| Kumedpur 54 || 5797 || 10772  || 11182 || 48.1
|-
| Chatra 41 || 8543 || 13684  || 13748 || 48.1
|-
| Chaitrakul 35 || 7470 || 11130  || 11212 || 55.7
|-
| Tukuria 95 || 6665 || 9939  || 9986 || 53.5
|-
| Panchgachha 63 || 6220 || 11795  || 12582 || 40.7
|-
| Pirganj 69 || 5894 || 17684  || 17508 || 51.2
|-
| Bara Alampur 16 || 7961 || 10419  || 10283 || 38.9
|-
| Bara Dargah 22 || 5676 || 13483  || 13467 || 49.9
|-
| Bhendabari 28 || 5995 || 9907  || 10335 || 47.7
|-
| Madankhali 56 || 6596 || 11783  || 11514 || 41.4
|-
| Mithapur 58 || 6785 || 14673  || 14743 || 39.4
|-
| Ramnathpur 82 || 8346 || 17778  || 17823 || 40.9
|-
| Roypur 75 || 5730 || 11449  || 11212 || 42.9
|-
| Shanerhat 88 || 6460 || 11994  || 12327 || 39.7

|}

''Source''  Bangladesh Population Census 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

[[Image:PirganjUpazilaRangpur.jpg|thumb|400px]]
''Archaeological heritage and relics''  Remnants of the palace of Raja Nilambar at Patgram, Tomb of Shah Ismail Ghazi, seven fort at Satgara (fort of Birat Raja, cattle house of Birat Raja, fort of Kuru Pandava, palace of Nora Raja, etc.), house and tomb of Poet Hayat Mahmud (medieval period) at village Jhar Bishla, Khalashpur Hat Jami Mosque, three domed Mosque at Dariapur, Hatibanda Mosque, Zamindar Bari and Mandir at Roypur, Khalisha Church.

''Historical events''  On 22 February 1952 [[Hartal|hartal]] was observed demanding Bangla as the state language. On the same day, in a meeting organized by the students and general public declared to continue the [[Language Movement|language movement]] until the demand is fulfilled.

''War of Liberation''  The peoples’ resistance groups destroyed the Bridge at Angra on the Dhaka-Rangpur Highway to disrupt the communication, the furious Pakistani soldiers entered the villages Jelepara, Uzirpur and Madarganj Hat where they looted many houses and set them on fire. From November the freedom fighters started launching guerrilla operation in the upazila. Besides, encounters between the freedom fighters and the Pak army were held in different areas from Laldighi to Bara Dargah. There are mass graves at Angrar Bridge and Madarganj Hat of the upazila.

For details: see পীরগঞ্জ উপজেলা, ''বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ'' (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ৬।

''Religious institutions''  Mosque 520, temple 130, tomb 8, church 6. Noted religious institutions: Khalashpur Hat Jami Mosque, Hatibandha Mosque, Roypur Zamindar Bari Mandir.

''Literacy rate and educational institutions''  Average literacy 45.4%; male 47.7%, female 43.1%. Noted educational institutions: Kadirabad High School (1916), Roypur High School (1931), Madankhali Primary School (1910), Chawk Karim Primary School (1926).

''Newspapers and periodicals''  Weekly: Bajrakantha.

''Cultural organisations''  Library 1, club 70, theatre group 2, branch office of Biswa Sahitya Kendra 1, cinema hall 3.

''Main sources of income''  Agriculture 74.87%, non-agricultural labourer 2.7%, industry 0.57%, commerce 9.17%, transport and communication 3.62%, service 3.65%, construction 0.76%, religious service 0.16%, rent and remittance 0.8% and others 3.7%.

''Ownership of agricultural land''  Landowner 57.94%, landless 42.06%; agricultural landowner: urban 55.85% and rural 58.01%.

''Main crops''  Paddy, wheat, maize, sugarcane, mustard, potato, vegetables.

''Extinct or nearly extinct crops''  Jute, arahar, aus paddy.

''Main fruits'' Mango, jackfruit, blackberry, litchi, papaya, banana.

''Fisheries, dairies and poultries'' Fishery 35, dairy 35, poultry 30.

''Communication facilities''  Pucca road 181 km, semi-pucca road 41 km, mud road 597 km.

''Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport'' Palanquin, bullock cart.

''Noted manufactories'' Rice mill, saw mill, oil mill, welding factory.

''Cottage industries'' Blacksmith, potteries, husking mill, jute work, wood work.

''Hats, bazars and fairs'' Hats and bazars are 27, fairs 10, most noted of which are Khalashpur Hat, Bhendabari Hat, Motherganj Hat, Chatra Hat, Shanerhat, Tukuria Hat, Colony Bazar Hat, Kadirabad Bazar, Balua Bazar, Pirganj Bazar, Baurani Mela at Zaffarpur, Baruni Mela at Bara Beel, Baruni Mela at Harin Singer Dighi, Bhendabari Mela, Phulbari Mela and Muharram Mela at Bara Dargah.

''Main exports''  Paddy, wheat, potato, banana, sugarcane molasses, vegetables.

''Access to electricity''  All the unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 30.8% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

''Natural resources''  Khalishpur coal mine at Magura have been found in this upazila.
Sources of drinking water  Tube-well 97.9%, tap 0.4% and others 1.7%.

''Sanitation''  39.5% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 33.4% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 27.1% of households do not have latrine facilities.

''Health centres'' Upazila health centre 1, family planning centre 12, union health centre 15, charitable hospital 7.

''NGO activities'' Operationally important NGOs are [[BRAC|brac]], [[ASA|asa]], HEED Bangladesh.  [Abu Md. Iqbal Rumi Shah]

'''References'''  Bangladesh Population Census 2001 and 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics; Cultural survey report of Pirganj Upazila 2007.

[[Category:Upazilas of Bangladesh]]

[[Category:Local Government]]

[[bn:পীরগঞ্জ উপজেলা (রংপুর)]]