Mirzapur Upazila

Mirzapur Upazila (tangail district) area 373.88 sq km, located in between 24°01' and 24°13' north latitudes and in between 89°58' and 90°15' east longitudes. It is bounded by sakhipur and basail upazilas on the north, kaliakair and dhamrai upazilas on the south, Kaliakair upazila on the east, delduar and nagarpur upazilas on the west.

Population Total 407781; male 195256, female 212525; Muslim 355636, Hindu 51867, Buddhist 22, Christian 211 and others 45.

Water bodies Main rivers: bangshi, Futjani, turag.

Administration Mirzapur Thana, now an upazila, was formed in 1913.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
1	14	202	219	35414	372367	1091	59.9 (2001)	54.2

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
8.58 (2001)	9	17	28602	2743 (2001)	69.7

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
6.92 (2001)	4	6812	867 (2001)	66.4

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Ajgana 13	10775	16077	16872	51.2
Anaitara 15	6085	11653	13259	53.5
Uarsi 94	6871	13027	14584	59.8
Gorai 55	7301	28634	29263	59.4
Jamurki 63	5214	16127	17366	57.7
Tarafpur 87	6500	11007	12162	47.3
Fatehpur 47	4958	9733	11080	50.2
Bahuria 23	5170	10180	11224	52.2
Banshtail 34	11983	14306	15475	40.4
Banail 31	5660	11139	12269	58.3
Bhaora 36	3560	8502	9370	61.5
Bhatgram 39	4887	10408	11461	54.5
Mahera 71	4413	13470	13674	56.8
Latifpur 67	5042	7846	9011	55.1

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

Archaeological heritage and relics Three-domed ancient mosque at Pakulla (eighteenth century).

War of Liberation A battle was fought between the freedom fighters and the Pak army on 3 April 1971 at Goran Satiachara in which 33 freedom fighters were killed and so were a number of Pakistani soldiers. Freedom fighters had encounters in some other places of the upazila such as Rampur, Patharghata and Noyapara. There is a mass grave at Goran Satiachara and a mass killing site at Pakulla.

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

Religious institutions Mosque 306, temple 105. Noted religious institutions: Pakulla Mosque, Pakulla Math, Sawali Kali Mandir.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 55.5%; male 59.2%, female 52.2%. Educational institutions: medical college 1, college 6, cadet college 1, police training centre 1, nursing institute 2, secondary school 44, primary school 159, madrasa 14. Noted educational institutions: Kumudini Medical College (2001), Mirzapur Cadet College (1965), Mahera Police Training School (1970), Mahera Ananda High School (1990), Jamurki Nawab Sir Abdul Ghani Multilateral High School (1914), Mirzapur SK Pilot High School (1915), Maisamura BK High School (1920), Grasthamatia SC High School (1927), Barabi Nardana Bangladesh High School (1948), Bhatgram Dayamayi Chatushpathi.

Newspapers and periodicals Weekly: Bangshai (irregular).

Cultural organisations Club 60, cultural society 1, theatre stage 1, playground 50.

Main sources of income Agriculture 54.94%, non-agricultural labourer 3.02%, industry 1.06%, commerce 12.53%, transport and communication 2.02%, service 11.60%, construction 1.26%, religious service 0.19%, rent and remittance 4.01% and others 9.37%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 66.05%, landless 33.95%; agricultural landowner: urban 50.90% and rural 67.24%.

Main crops Paddy, jute, mustard, potato, wheat, pulse, sugarcane, vegetables.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Motor, khesari, sweet potato, sesame, black gram.

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

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 250, dairy 78, poultry 350.

Communication facilities Pucca road 132 km, semi-pucca road 18 km, mud road 800 km; railway 12 km.

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

Noted manufactories Cotton mill, spinning mill, jute mill, biscuit factory, battery factory, welding factory.

Cottage industries Goldsmith, blacksmith, brass work, potteries, weaving, wood work.

Main exports potato, jute, sugarcane molasses.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 63.6% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 91.7%, tap 3.5% and others 4.8%.

Sanitation 65.0% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 28.9% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 6.1% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Hospital 1, upazila health centre 1, family planning centre 12, satellite clinic 6, clinic 12.

Natural disasters Many people were victims of the famine of 1943. Besides, the flood of 1988 caused heavy damages to settlements, livestock and other properties of the upazila.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, proshika. [Malay Shaha]

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