Chandina Upazila

Chandina Upazila (comilla district) area 201.01 sq km, located in between 23°21' and 23°31' north latitudes and in between 90°51' and 91°04' east longitudes. It is bounded by daudkandi, muradnagar and debidwar upazilas on the north, barura and kachua (chandpur) upazilas on the south, burichang, comilla adarsha sadar and Barura upazilas on the east, Daudkandi and Kachua upazilas on the west.

Population Total 350273; male 165874, female 184399; Muslim 326672, Hindu 23550, Buddhist 7, Christian 8 and others 36.

Water bodies Kalichhari and Batakashi rivers, Karjon Canal and Ghograr Beel are notable.

Administration Chandina Thana was turned into an upazila in 1983.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
1	13	121	223	48471	301802	1742	49.11 (2001)	49.7

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
13.23 (2001)	9	19	46823	2732 (2001)	59.3

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
0.75 (2001)	1	1648	2065 (2001)	61.4

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Atbar Pur 47	1764	3735	4206	44.4
Keran Khal 13	2411	8227	8672	57.6
Gallai 55	5024	14227	16058	44.1
Joyag 31	3474	11358	13495	54.1
Dollai Nowabab Pur 63	2515	10693	12522	52.6
Barkait 39	3900	11583	12968	46.0
Bara Karai 23	3731	11292	12769	57.0
Barera 15	1678	8549	9734	49.6
Batakashi 87	3670	9244	10478	47.4
Mahichal 20	3673	10601	11940	50.7
Maijkhara 79	7520	21045	23131	49.8
Madhya 71	3524	13129	13832	49.6
Suhilpur 94	3521	9457	10505	42.1

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

Archaeological heritage and relics Raj Kachary (revenue office), Kali Mandir (Chandina), Mazar of Hazrat Hober Ali (R) at Arikhola.

War of Liberation On 11 December 1971, in a direct encounter between the Pak army and the freedom fighters nearly 1400 members of Pak army surrendered to the freedom fighters. In another direct encounter at Kat-tala on 12 December seven members of the Pak army were killed and so were three freedom fighters. Besides, 6 freedom fighters were killed and nearly 23 were wounded in an encounter with the Pak army at Fawi of Chandina. Mass killing sites were discovered at 2 places (Puira Bridge east of Chandina High School and the northwest side of the Chandina Hospital of the upazila) and there are 3 mass graves (at Kashimpur Shashan (crematorium) Ghat, Baroi Para and Kongai Barabari.

For details: see চান্দিনা উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি,ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ৩।

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 51.0%; male 51.5%, female 50.6%. Educational institutions: college 5, secondary school 32, primary school 116, madrasa 49. Noted educational institutions: Kailain Tulpai High School (1913), Chandina Pilot High School (1916), Dollai Nowabab Pur High School (1939), Madhya Bazar Chhadim High School (1943), Bishwas Government Primary School (1916), Madhya Government Primary School (1930), Paschim Belashar Government Primary School (1935), Barakhat Government Primary School (1939), Chandina Model Government Primary School (1940), Khirasar Mohanpur Dakhil Madrasa (1987).

Cultural organisations Club 52, library 4, cinema hall 1, theatre stage 1.

Main sources of income Agriculture 56.71%, non-agricultural labourer 2.46%, commerce 14.07%, transport and communication 4.54%, service 8.24%, construction 1.13%, religious service 0.46%, rent and remittance 3.91% and others 8.48%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 65.17%, landless 34.83%; agricultural landowner:' urban 45.95% and rural 67.82%.

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

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Jute, masuri, seasame, linseed, kaun, onion, garlic, tobacco, sugarcane.

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

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 10, poultry 36, dairy farm 13.

Communication facilities Pucca road 122.94 km, semi-pucca 34.58 km, mud road 471.26 km. Culvert 240.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin, bullock cart.

Noted manufactories Textile mill, rice mill, flour mill, oil mill, cold storage.

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

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 29, fairs 4. Chandina, Madhya, Nowabab Pur and Badarpur hats; Dollai Nowabab Pur, Mahichal, Rasulpur, Rammohan and Kailain bazars; Baraia Krishnapur Arang, Pihar, Madhyamtala and Madhya melas are notable.

''Main exports Khadi cloth, flour, potato.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 66.3% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 93.4%, tap 1.5% and others 5.1%. The presence of intolerable level of arsenic has been detected in shallow tube-well water of the upazila.

Sanitation 78.3% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 18.3% of dwelling houses use non-sanitary latrines; 3.4% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, satellite clinic 1, family planning centre 12, hospital 2, union health and family welfare centre 2, clinic 6, diagnostic centre 1.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, asa, proshika. [Muhammad Mosharaf Hossain Bhuiyan]

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