Jhenaidah Sadar Upazila

Jhenaidah Sadar Upazila (jhenaidah district) area 470.11 sq km, located in between 23°26' and 23°36' north latitudes and in between 88°57' and 89°20' east longitudes. It is bounded by harinakunda and shailkupa upazilas on the north, kaliganj (jhenaidah) and salikha upazilas on the south, magura sadar upazila on the east, kotchandpur and chuadanga sadar upazilas on the west.

Population Total 455932; male 228155, female 227777; Muslim 407778, Hindu 47743, Buddhist 6, Christian 133 and others 272.

Water bodies Main rivers: Begabati, nabaganga.

Administration Jhenaidah Thana was formed in 1793 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	17	248	284	110541	345391	970	63.8 (2001)	46.7

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
39.62 (2001)	9	34	107834	2193 (2001)	68.1

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
29.75 (2001)	1	2707	59 (2001)	29.5

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Kalicharanpur 42	4180	7791	7744	50.2
Kumrabaria 47	6079	10067	9989	48.0
Ganna 15	8659	14408	14499	45.4
Ghorshal 21	6685	8879	9095	42.5
Dogachhi 11	4502	6656	6638	49.7
Naldanga 63	8398	11858	11935	48.4
Padmakar 68	4308	9184	9202	50.3
Paglakanai 73	3561	8965	8914	45.8
Porahati 79	8174	13324	13084	45.1
Fursandi 13	7016	8726	9044	43.7
Madhuhati 52	9127	13107	13574	39.8
Moharajpur 58	8763	13019	13182	52.6
Saganna 84	4881	10315	10735	45.8
Sadhuhati 89	6218	10965	11079	47.9
Surat 94	4144	6647	6627	43.0
Harishankarpur 31	6666	9923	10009	47.8
Halidhani 26	5014	9274	9640	46.9

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

Archaeological heritage and relics House of Naldangar Raja, house of Salim Chowdhury (1822), Pancha Ratna Temple, tomb of Pagla Kanai at Berbari, house of KP Basu, Madhupur Neelkuthi, Dhol Samudra.

War of Liberation On 16 April 1971 an encounter between the freedom fighters and the Pak army was held on the bank of the Begabati river of Bishkhali in which 7 freedom fighters were killed and many were wounded.

For details: see ঝিনাইদহ সদর উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ৪।

Religious institutions Mosque 435, temple 3, church 1.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 51.8%; male 54.5%, female 49.0%. Educational institutions: college 15, polytechnic institute 1, secondary school 63, primary school 186, madrasa 40. Noted educational institutions: Government KC College (1960), Jhenaidah Cadet College (1963), Government Nurunnahar Mohila College (1985), Jhenaidah Government High School (1877), Wazir Ali High School (1903), Jhenaidah Government Girls'; High School (1954), Kanchan Nagar Model High School, Harishankarpur JC Biddapith (1918), Jhenaidah Siddikia Alim Madrasa (1967).

Newspapers and periodicals Present: Daily Jhenaidah, Daily Adhibeshan, Daily Jhenaidah Bani; weekly: Aunirvan, Bir Darpan.

Cultural organisations Library 2, club 30, cinema hall 5, theatre stage 1, theatre group 7, women society 41.

Main sources of income Agriculture 60.12%, non-agricultural labourer 3.28%, industry 1.16%, commerce 15.36%, transport and communication 5.21%, service 7.45%, construction 1.91%, religious service 0.18%, rent and remittance 0.81% and others 4.52%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 61.47%, landless 38.53%; agricultural landowner: urban 47.48% and rural 65.35%.

Main crops Paddy, jute, sugarcane, wheat, barley, betel leaf, potato, vegetables.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Sesame, linseed, sweet potato, arahar.

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

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Dairy 13, poultry 281.

Communication facilities Pucca road 224 km, semi-pucca road 74 km, mud road 1089 km.

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

Noted manufactories Pulse mill, flour mill, oil mill, rice mill, ice factory.

Cottage industries Weaving, blacksmith.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 38, most noted of which are Jhenaidah Sadar, Gopalpur, Bhatai, Tentultala, Bishaykhali, Narikelbaria and Madhupur hats.

Main exports Paddy, jute, betel leaf, banana, date molasses, vegetables.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 61.9% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 91.6%, tap 6.1% and others 2.3%.

Sanitation 57.4% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 37.0% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 5.6% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Hospital 1, upazila health complex 1, Shishu Hospital 1, eye hospital 1, diabetic hospital 1, maternity and child welfare centre 1, family welfare centre 1, maternity 1, satellite clinic 1.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, ASA, Dipshikha, Srijani. [Md Moshiur Rahman]

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