Mirpur Upazila

Mirpur Upazila (kushtia district) area 305.06 sq km, located in between 23°45' and 24°00' north latitudes and in between 88°50' and 89°06' east longitudes. It is bounded by bheramara and ishwardi upazilas on the north, alamdanga and kushtia sadar upazilas on the south, Kushtia Sadar upazila on the east, daulatpur (Kushtia), gangni and Alamdanga upazilas on the west.

Population Total 330115; male 165529, female 164586; Muslim 322845, Hindu 7243, Buddhist 7, Christian 4 and others 16. Indigenous communities such as Kol, Buno belong to this upazila.

Water bodies Main rivers: padma, kumar, Gorai; Sagorkhali Canal is notable.

Administration Mirpur Thana was formed in 1885 and it was turned into an upazila on 1 August 1983.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
1	12	113	189	32802	297313	1082	48.5 (2001)	40.2

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
8.81 (2001)	9	15	22417	2138 (2001)	56.0

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
3.54 (2001)	2	10385	2421 (2001)	59.7

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Ambaria 13	4856	8443	8791	41.4
Amla 14	6736	13958	13921	43.7
Kursha 58	5661	10999	11385	34.8
Chithulia 43	2330	15632	15523	39.0
Chhatian 36	6292	13462	13286	37.1
Talbaria 94	5447	10472	9856	39.0
Poradaha 80	6973	19506	19716	47.2
Fulbaria 73	2888	7086	6886	39.3
Bahalbaria 21	4821	13061	12971	45.9
Barui Para 29	7718	14156	13948	46.1
Malihad 65	7518	12847	12828	31.0
Sardarpur 87	7406	14437	14528	39.8

Source  Bangladesh Population Census 2001 and 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Historical events Dui Bannon, a French person started indigo plantation in the territory of present Bangladesh in 1774 and one year later, Carol Blum, an Englishman first established a (Neel Kuthi) indigo house here. Farmers engaged in indigo plantation were organized under the leadership of Pary Sundar and revolted against the indigo masters in 1860. Kushtia district was seized by a 3-day hartal in 1952 in support of the language movement. Mohammad Abdul Haque earned fame by filing a constitutional law suit against the President of Pakistan Field Martial Ayub Khan in 1964. People of Kushtia joined the mass movement of 1969, in which the police forces shot and killed Abdur Razzaq, a local young man.

War of Liberation A contingent of 175 soldiers of the Baluch Regiment came to Kushtia from Jessore Cantonment at night of the 25th of March 1971 and took position at Police Line, Zila School, Police station, Wireless Office and Telegraph Office. People of Kushtia instantly created a barricade that night and in the morning next day, the Pakistani forces declared curfew alover the town. The next day they moved around the town and shot and killed 7 people at different places. Freedom fighters of the upazila had a number of encounters with the Pak army in the upazila and notable among them were those at Sherpur, Kamarpara, Kakiladaha, Hasla and Shukcha.

For details: see মিরপুর উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ৮।

Religious institutions Mosque 280, temple 18, tomb 1. Noted religious institutions: Al Musharraf Jami Mosque, Bahubaria Old Jami Mosque, Khadimpur Bazar Mosque, Temple of the Dhingha Babu at Babupara of Poradaha, Sadarpur Mandir, Mirpur Pauro Mandir, tomb of Abdur Rahman.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 41.9%; male 42.6%, female 41.2%. Educational institutions: college 12, secondary school 33, primary school 124, satellite school 3, madrasa 9, maktab 30. Noted educational institutions: Mirpur Mahmuda Chowdhury Degree College' (1986), Mirpur Degree College (1999), Amla Sadarpur Secondary School (1899), Mirpur Pilot High School (1913), Poradaha High School (1927), Mirpur Government Pilot Girls' High School (1983).

Newspapers and periodicals Monthly: Auronoday; periodical: Protidhoni.

Cultural organisations Library 6, women's organisation 7, cinema hall 1.

Main sources of income Agriculture 66.54%, non-agricultural labourer 2.90%, industry 1.08%, commerce 13.23%, transport and communication 3.35%, service 4.75%, construction 1.29%, religious service 0.17%, rent and remittance 0.36% and others 6.33%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 53.76%, landless 46.24%; agricultural landowner: urban 38.62% and rural 55.34%.

Main crops Paddy, wheat, jute, sugarcane, potato, tobacco, mustard, betel leaf, sunflower.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Sesame, linseed.

Main fruits Mango, blackberry, banana, jackfruit.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 35, dairy 9, poultry 5, hatchery 4.

Communication facilities Pucca road 277 km, semi-pucca road 49 km, mud road 606 km; railway 18 km; waterway 12 km.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin, horse carriage, bullock cart.

Noted manufactories Rice mill, cotton mill, sugar mill, bidi factory, welding factory.

Cottage industries Goldsmith, blacksmith, weaving, bamboo work, cane work, wood work.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 12, fairs 3, most noted of which are Mirpur Cattle Market, Khadimpur Hat, Poradaha Cloth Market, Baishakhi Mela at Hajarhati Village.

Main exports Tobacco, jute, betel leaf.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 61.3% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 98.0%, tap 0.4% and others 1.6%.

Sanitation 57.1% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 36.8% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 6.1% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, clinic 13, family planning and welfare centre 10.

Natural disasters Many people were victims of the floods and cyclones of 1823, 1837, 1864, 1867, 1871, 1887, 1900, 1930, 1938, 1948, 1954, 1961, and 1971; these natural disasters also caused heavy damages to settlements and crops of the upazila. Besides, many people were also victims of the famine of 1943.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, asa, BRDB, Swanirvar Bangladesh, Shetu, Jagarani. [Arif Nishir]

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