Ghoraghat Upazila

Ghoraghat Upazila (dinajpur district) area 148.67 sq km, located in between 25°13' and 25°22' north latitudes and in between 89°08' and 89°18' east longitudes. It is bounded by nawabganj and pirganj (rangpur) upazilas on the north, panchbibi and gobindaganj upazilas on the south, palashbari and Pirganj upazilas on the east, hakimpur and Nawabganj upazilas on the west.

Population Total 117740; male 59001, female 58739; Muslim 101014, Hindu 7302, Buddhist 19, Christian 6062 and others 3343. Indigenous communities such as santal, oraon, Munda belong to this upazila.

Water bodies Main river: Jamunnesari.

Administration Ghoraghat Thana was formed in 1895 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	4	103	103	23554	94186	792	46.3 (2001)	44.7

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
-	9	29	22717	-	51.2

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
5.07 (2001)	1	837	898 (2001)	49.1

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Ghoraghat 38	4004	5641	5711	43.9
Palsa 57	9814	12390	12500	47.5
Bulakipur 19	9272	13792	13420	38.6
Singra 76	9045	15773	15796	48.2

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

Archaeological heritage and relics Mosque at village Chargachha (Mughal period), tombs of Shah Ismail Ghazi and Badre Arefin.

War of Liberation Freedom fighters had encounters with Pak army at Rudrani, Jalpaitali, Panikata, Raninagar and a few other places of the upazila during the War of Liberaion.

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

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 46.0%; male 48.4%, female 43.6%. Educational institutions: college 8, secondary school 18, primary school 53, brac school 29, kindergarten 2, madrasa 34. Noted educational institutions: Ghoraghat Degree College (1984), Ghoraghat Women College (1994), Raniganj Mahila College (1994), Dugdugirhat Technical College (2003), Raniganj Bilateral High School (1945), Chatsal Secondary School (1946), Balahar Secondary School (1958), Balagari' Secondary School (1966), Gopalpur Secondary School (1972), Krishnarampur Fazil Madrasa (1946), Deogaon Rahmania Senior Madrasa (1947).

Cultural organisations Library 3, club 10, cinema hall 5.

Main sources of income Agriculture 68.64%, non-agricultural labourer 2.84%, industry 0.50%, commerce 12.95%, transport and communication 2.91%, service 4.35%, construction 0.53%, religious service 0.13%, rent and remittance 0.07% and others 7.08%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 51.03%, landless 48.97%; agricultural landowner: urban 39.29% and rural 51.57%.'

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

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Sugarcane.

Main fruits Mango, watermelon, jackfruit, banana.

Communication facilities Pucca road 9149 km, mud road 284.77 km; waterway 16 km.

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

Cottage industries Goldsmith, blacksmith, potteries, wood work.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 17, fairs 2, most noted of which are Raniganj, Osmanpur and Ghoraghat hats; Rishighat Mela and Gopalpur Mela.

Main exports Paddy, banana, watermelon.

Access to electricity All the unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 39.2% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 95.2%, tap 1.2% and others 3.6%.

Sanitation 59.0% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 30.0% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 11.0% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, union and family planning centre 4, satellite clinic 3.

NGO activities brac, asa, HEED Bangladesh, thengamara mahila sabuj sangha. [Shamsuzzaman]

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