Nagarkanda Upazila

Nagarkanda Upazila (faridpur district) area 192.20 sq km, located in between 23°19' and 23°24' north latitudes and in between 89°43' and 89°56' east longitudes. It is bounded by faridpur sadar and char bhadrasan upazilas on the north, muksudpur upazila on the south, bhanga and sadarpur upazilas on the east, saltha upazila on the west.

Population Total 197898; male 98290, female 99608; Muslim 180767, Hindu 17118, Buddhist 1 and Christian 12.

Water bodies Main rivers: Bhubaneshwar, shitalakshya; Jalibari Canal is notable.

Administration 'Nagarkanda Thana was formed in 1906 and it was turned into an upazila in 1984.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
1	9	124	169	15805	182093	1030	50.0 (2001)	46.3

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
7.57 (2001)	9	15	11872	1244 (2001)	54.3

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
3.95 (2001)	1	3933	907 (2001)	48.0

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Kaichail 50	3114	8324	8627	46.0
Kodalia Shohidnagar 67	3647	7628	7811	44.4
Char Jasordi 22	8086	15719	15179	47.5
Dangi 27	5985	11245	11554	46.0
Talma 94	7035	14985	15508	48.1
Pura Para 72	3657	7955	7884	44.9
Phulsuti 33	2160	4339	4829	45.8
Ramnagar 83	6140	10356	10389	44.4
Laskardia 55	5635	11761	11933	46.9

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

Archaeological heritage and relics Kalibari at Kathia, Kali Mandir at Talma, former Khanka and residence of Hazrat Shah Ali Bagdadi (R), Mazar of Sufi Saint Mechher Shah, Mazar of Pir Shah Abdur Rahman Danishmand at Laskardia.

War of Liberation The freedom fighters raided the Nagarkanda Police outpost on 22 April 1971 and captured a huge amount of arms and ammunitions. The Pak army conducted mass killing and plundering at village Char Jasordi on 30 April; they also set many houses of the village on fire. On 4 May the freedom fighters attacked the Nagarkanda Police Station and captured arms and ammunitions; they also killed a Police Inspector, who was a cvollaborator of the Pak army. On 30 May the Pak army set five villages, from Kodalia to Bagat, on fire and killed 18 innocent persons. On 31 May the Pak army fired from helicopter and set 9 villages on fire. An encounter was held between the freedom fighters and the Pakistani soldiers at the razakar camp at Talma Bazar in which 8 razakars were killed. The freedom fighters launched an attack on the Pak Military camp at Nagarkanda in which a number of Pakistani soldiers and some razakars were killed and so was one freedom fighter. There is amass grave at Kodalia and a mass killing site in the upazila.

For details: see নগরকান্দা উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ৫।

Religious institutions Mosque 295, temple 38, tomb 2.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 46.8%; male 48.3%, female 45.3%. Educational institutions: college 2, secondary school 17, primary school 122. Noted educational institutions: Bilnalia Moyez Uddin High School (1910), MN Academy (1916).

Newspapers and periodicals Nagarkanda Barta, Sahitya Patrika, Mukti, Jagaran, Samay, Manabjiban, Manchitra.

Cultural organisations Library 1, club 250, cinema hall 1, theatre stage 1, theatre group 1.

Main sources of income Agriculture 68.96%, non-agricultural labourer 2.80%, industry 0.74%, commerce 11.42%, transport and communication 3.25%, service 4.91%, construction 1.10%, religious service 0.23%, rent and remittance 0.67% and others 5.92%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner' 67.45%, landless 32.55%.

Main crops Paddy, jute, wheat, kalai, mustard, potato, sugarcane.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Barley, sesame, kaun, linseed, arahar.

Main fruits Mango, blackberry, date, jackfruit, guava, papaya, banana.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 132, dairy 62, poultry 22, hatchery 3.

Communication facilities Pucca road 63 km, semi-pucca road 77 km, mud road 290 km.

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

Noted manufactories Rice mill 250, sugarcane grinder 2.

Cottage industries Goldsmith, embroidery, bamboo work, wood work.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 36, fairs 3, most noted of which are Talma Hat, Rasulpur Hat, Moyendar Hat, Nagarkanda Hat, Chagaldi Mela, Kalibari Mela at Kathia and Khalishputi Mela.

Main exports Wheat, jute, mustard, date molasses, banana.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 44.7% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 98.1%, tap 0.2% and others 1.7%.

Sanitation 81.6% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 15.8% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 2.6% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, satellite clinic 15, health and welfare centre 9, clinic 2.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, asa, proshika. [Jayeed Hussain Laky]

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