Kachua Upazila (Chandpur District)

Kachua Upazila (chandpur district) area 235.81 sq km, located in between 23°15' and 23°24' north latitudes and in between 90°48' and 91°01' east longitudes. It is bounded by chandina and daudkandi upazilas on the north, shahrasti and hajiganj upazilas on the south, barura and Chandina upazilas on the east, matlab dakshin and Hajiganj upazilas on the west.

Population Total 382139; male 180736, female 201403; Muslim 356729, Hindu 25368, Buddhist 26, Christian 9 and others 7.

Water bodies Main rivers: Kachua, Kalichhari; Boaljuri and Batakashi canals are notable.

Administration Kachua Thana was formed in 1918 and it was turned into an upazila on 20 July 1983.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
1	12	159	232	27024	355115	1621	63.3	53.0

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
11.23	9	20	27024	2406	63.3

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Ashrafpur 13	5777	17016	19504	55.1
Uttar Kachua 39	4102	12712	14524	45.2
Uttar Gohat 23	3612	13161	14579	55.0
Karaia 63	6466	20359	22894	60.7
Kadla 55	5677	14841	17243	63.5
Dakshin Kachua 47	2623	8917	9885	51.5
Dakshin Gohat 31	3581	13380	15127	55.4
Paschim Sahadebpur 94	4593	12288	14036	49.5
Pathair 79	3662	10758	11966	50.3
Purba Sahadebpur 87	4186	11354	12685	39.8
Bitara 15	7323	19031	20911	53.8
Sachar 71	4183	13548	14396	46.0

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Bakhtiar Khan Jami Mosque (Ujani, 1107 AH), Jami Mosque at village Palgiri, Dighi and pata (stone slab) of Behula, temple of Sree Sree Jagannath Dev at Sachar (1870), Dighi at Saharpar (Rahimanagar), Manasa Mura, Math at Tulatali (sixteenth century).

War of Liberation On 14 September 1971 the local rajakars attacked the Raghunathpur Bazar and killed one freedom fighter and 14 innocent civilians. Operations during the War of Liberation were carried out in the upazila by the joint command of FF and BLF and the notable among the many encounters between the freedom fighters and Pak army that took place in the upazila were those at Raghnathpur and Sadoipura. A memorial monument has been built at Raghunathpur.

For details: see কচুয়া উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ২।

Religious institutions Mosque 443, temple 49, tomb 10, sacred place 1.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 53.8%; male 53.1%, female 54.4%. Educational institutions: college 1, secondary school 32, primary school 226, NGO school 49, madrasa 17. Noted educational institutions: Sachar High School (1916), Kachua Pilot Government High School (1937), Nischintapur DS Kamil Madrasa (1958), Chandpur Polytechnic Institute (2005).

Newspapers and periodicals Fortnightly: Kachua Kantha.

Cultural organisations Club 89, library 2, theatre group 2, women organisation 13, playground 32. Kachua Public Library and Dr. Muhammod Mansur Uddin Smriti Pathagar are notable.

Main sources of income Agriculture 52.47%, non-agricultural labourer 3.53%, industry 0.76%, commerce 12.74%, transport and communication 3.99%, service 9.95%, construction 2.07%, religious service 0.52%, rent and remittance 4.96% and others 9.01%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 64.59%, landless 35.41%; agricultural landowner: urban 57.37% and rural 65.07%.

Main crops Paddy, wheat, potato, mustard, sesame.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Jute, kaun, arahar.

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, pineapple, banana, plum.

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

Communication facilities Pucca road 257 km, semi-pucca road 10 km, mud road 789 km; waterway 45 km.

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

Noted manufactories Flour mill, cold storage, ice factory, welding factory.

Cottage industries Goldsmith, blacksmith, bidi factory, cocoon industry, bamboo and wood work.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 32, fairs 10, most noted of which are Kachua, Rahimanagar, Sachar, Jagatpur, Darbeshganj and Charabhanga bazars, Harisavar Mela at Naula, Aingiri Mela, Goht Mela, Karaia Battala Mela and Meghdai Mela.

Main exports Plum, banana, potato.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 55.1% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 93.5%, tap 1.1% and others 5.4%.

Sanitation 57.4% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 39.7% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 2.9% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health centre 1, family planning centre 12.

Natural disasters The cyclone of 1974 caused heavy damages to the properties of a number of villages of the upazila.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are asa, brac, Uddipan, BARD, the Good Earth. [Habibunnabi Shariful Haque Shajee]

References Bangladesh Population Census 2001 and 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics; Field report of Kachua Upazila 2007.