Akhaura Upazila

Akhaura Upazila (brahmanbaria district) area 98.04 sq km, located in between 23°47' and 23°54' north latitudes and in between 91°07' and 91°15' east longitudes. It is bounded by brahmanbaria sadar upazila on the north, kasba upazila on the south, Tripura State of India on the east and Brahmanbaria Sadar and Kasba upazilas on the west. Once upon a time Akhaura is included in the Tripura province of India. Recently Akhaura is an important railway junction of Bangladesh. Now this junction has a connection with chittagong, sylhet, dhaka and mymensingh.

Population Total 145215; male 70110, female 75105; Muslim 136787, Hindu 8423, Buddhist 3 and others 2.

Water bodies Haura and Titas rivers and Pipuli beel are notable; jalmahal 15.

Administration Akhaura Thana was formed on 20 June 1976 and it was turned into an upazila in 1983. Akhaura Paurasabha was formed in 1999.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
1	5	90	112	36262	108953	1481	61.8	49.7

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
8.22	9	23	36262	4411	61.8

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Uttar Akhaura 19	2233	5747	6204	55.7
Dakshin Akhaura 90	1690	5130	5540	50.8
Dharkhar 57	8183	16288	17933	50.5
Maniand 76	5487	11734	12806	46.7
Mogra 85	4578	13356	14215	48.1

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Mazar of Hazrat Syed Ahmad Gechhudaraj, known as Kalla Shaheed (R) at Kharampur, Chhatura Sharif Bara Mosque, Mathkhola at Mogra, Kachhari (revenue office) of Maharaj.

War of Liberation During the war of liberation in 1971 Akhaura was under Sector 2. The important battle fields of the upazila were Akhaura, Devgram, Taragan, Check post road and Daruin. Bir Shrestha Sepahy mohammad mostafa kamal was killed on 18 April 1971 in a frontal encounter with the Pak army at village Daruin. The tomb of Bir Shrestha Sepahy Mostafa Kamal is located in this village. There are mass graves at two places (western bank of the Mogra Gangasagar Dighi and Senarbadi of Akhaura-Tripura border) of the upazila.

For details: see আখাউড়া উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ১।

Religious institutions Mosque 175, temple 7, eidgah 22.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 52.7%; male 53.0%, female 52.5%. Educational institutions: college 1, secondary school 15, primary school 45, community school 6, satellite school 6, madrasa 188. Noted educational institutions: Debgram Pilot High School (1905), Bangladesh Railway Government High School (1920), Shaheed Smriti College (1972).

Main sources of income Agriculture 44.23%, non-agricultural labourer 2.70%, industry 0.80%, commerce 19.17%, transport and communication 5.36%, service 10.16%, construction 1.32%, religious service 0.26%, rent and remittance 8.01% and others 7.99%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 51.02%, landless 48.98%; agricultural landowner: urban 34.02% and rural 56.87%.

Main crops Paddy, jute, wheat, potato, vegetables.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Oil seeds and varieties of pulse.

Main fruits Jackfruit, litchi, coconut, guava, mango, black berry, banana, plum, papaya.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries This upazilla has a number of fisheries, dairies and poultries.

Communication facilities Roads: pucca road 130 km, semi-pucca road 9 km, mud road 90 km; railway station 3.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport palanquin, boat.

Noted manufactories Saw mill, rice mill, oil mill, biscuit factory, fish-food production factory.

Cottage industries Blacksmith, potteries, bamboo and woodworks.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 32; most noted of which are Mogra, Akhaura bazars and Dharkhar and Kalibari's Vatamatha melas.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electricity net-work. However 78.3% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 95.0%, tap 2.7% and others 2.3%.

Sanitation 75.3% of dwelling households of the upazilla use sanitary latrines and 22.5% of dwelling houses use non-sanitary latrines; 2.2% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazilla health complex 1, satellite clinic 5, hospital 1, family welfare centre 3, clinic 4, diagnostic centre 4.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, asa, proshika. [Mohammad Mofiz Udin]

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