Faridpur Sadar Upazila

Faridpur Sadar Upazila (faridpur district) area 412.86 sq km, located in between 23°29' and 23°34' north latitudes and in between 89°43' and 89°56' east longitudes. It is bounded by goalanda and harirampur upazilas on the north, saltha upazila on the south, char bhadrasan and Harirampur upazilas on the east, boalmari, madhukhali and rajbari sadar upazilas on the west. Upazila town is situated on the bank of kumar river.

Population Total 469410; male 235762, female 233648; Muslim 420103 and Hindu 48260, Buddhist 20, Christian 843 and others 184.

Water bodies Main rivers: padma, Kumar, Old Kumar, Bhubaneshwar; Chapa Beel, Hari Beel, Shakuner Beel, Dhol Samudra, Kole (a strip of shallow water) of Beel Mamunpur and Tepa Kholar Lake (excavated) are notable.

Administration Faridpur Sadar Thana was formed in 1896 and it was turned into an upazila in 1983.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
1	11	157	342	122425	346985	1137	73.3 (2001)	48.1

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
22.65 (2001)	9	41	121632	4413 (2001)	77.3

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
0.80 (2001)	1	793	1424 (2001)	48.9

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Ambikapur 15	4140	13882	13595	54.0
Aliabad 13	6632	17134	16810	51.5
Ishan Gopalpur 47	8775	14152	14709	49.3
Uttar Channel 87	13254	10542	10544	27.0
Kanaipur 63	9337	24310	24249	49.8
Krishnanagar 71	10836	18745	18922	49.5
Kaijuri 55	10305	20985	21168	48.8
Greda 39	5739	14364	14878	49.7
Char Madhabdia 23	6024	14361	14115	44.5
Decreerchar 31	5695	10741	10454	45.4
Majchar 79	10873	14402	14716	49.7

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

Archaeological heritage and relics Mosque at Gerda (1013 AH), Dargah of Sheikh Farid, Shiva Mandir at Chawkbazar, Jagabandhu Ashram (Sree Angan), Mazar of Bismillah Shah, Court Mosque, Faridpur Christian Mission, Gaur Gopal Angina (courtyard), house of Shah Saheb at Goalchamat, Math of Mahim Babu.

War of Liberation The Pak army established camp at Faridpur Stadium on 21 April 1971. They killed 8 Brahmacharis of the Jagabandhu Ashram at Shree Angan and set the Ashram on fire. On 2 May the Pak army brutally killed 34 persons at Sarkar Bari of Ishan Gopalpur. A battle between the freedom fighters and the Pak army was held on 9 December at Karimpur Bridge of Kanaipur in which 60 Pak soldiers were killed and so were 11 freedom fighters. One freedom fighter was killed in an encounter with the Pak army and the Beharis at Momin Khan Hat on 14 December. Mass graves have been discovered at two places (Faridpur Stadium, Faridpur Housing Estate) of the upazila; one memorial sculpture and a memorial monument had been built.

For details: see ফরিদপুর সদর উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ৬।

Religious institutions Mosque 321, temple 30, church 3, sacred place 1.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 55.8%; male 58.0%, female 53.7%. Educational institutions: medical college 1, law college 1, homeopathic college 1, teachers' training college 1, technical and vocational college 1, primary teachers' training institute 1, college 13, open university 1, secondary school 40, primary school 148, satellite school 13, community school 14, orphanage 3, madrasa 39. Noted educational institutions: Faridpur Medical College (1992), Government Rajendra College (1918), Faridpur High School (1889), Hitoishi High School (1889), Ishan Girls' High School (1908), Shiva Ram RD Academy (1917), Faridpur Government Girls' High School (1918), Moiez Uddin High School (1926), Adarsha Girls' High School (1927), Faridpur Zila School (1840).

Newspapers and periodicals Daily: Thekana, Gana Samhati, Bhorer Runner, Kumar (2006); Weekly: Ganaman (BS1370), Jagaran, Al-Mizan, Chasibarta, Pragatir Din (1995), Idaning, Faridpur Kantha, Kalvabna (2004), Faridpur Barta, Bangla Sambad; Defunct: Akal (Weekly), Al Muazzen.

Cultural organisations Club 140, library 3, museum 1, cinema hall 3, theatre stage 5, theatre group 17, women's organisation 45.

Tourist spots House of Palli Kabi Jasimuddin, Moiez Manzil and Graveyard, house of Khan Bahadur Abdul Gani, Faridpur Town Theatre (1915), house of Ambikacharan, campus of River Research Institute (1977), Kanaipur Shikdar Bari, house of Shah Saheb at Goalchamat, Sluice Gate.

Main sources of income Agriculture 39.72%, non-agricultural labourer 4.03%, industry 1.65%, commerce 17.49%, transport and communication 9.19%, service 14.23%, construction 3.68%, religious service 0.15%, rent and remittance 1.41% and' others 8.45%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 77.77%, landless 22.23%; agricultural landowner: urban 72.28% and rural 77.95%.

Main crops Paddy, jute, wheat, potato, sugarcane, onion, garlic, turmeric, pulse, vegetables.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Kaun, kusum phul, sesame, sonamuk, china, barley, arahar, sweet potato.

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

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 22, dairy 109, poultry 32, hatchery 3.'

Communication facilities Pucca road 249 km, semi-pucca road 129 km, mud road 383 km; railway 14 km; waterway 25 km; bridge 70, culvert 90.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin, bullock cart, buffalo cart.

Noted manufactories Jute mill, textile mill, rice mill, flour mill, pulse mill, ice cream factory.

Cottage industries Goldsmith, blacksmith, potteries, wood work, bamboo work, cane work.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 37, fairs 6, most noted of which are Kanaipur, Tepakhola, Mominkha, Gendu Mollar, Gajaria, Tambulkhana, Bakhunda and Khalilpur hats; Angina, Chawdhury Bari, Jasim Palli and Akpara melas.

Main exports Jute, onion, garlic, sugarcane molasses, pulse, vegetables, turmeric.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 67.9% of the dwellings have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 88.0%, tap 9.9% and others 2.1%.

Sanitation 77.4% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 20.7% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 1.9% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Medical college hospital 1, hospital 10, family planning centre 9, TB hospital 1, child and maternity centre 1, health centre 1, national heart foundation 1, clinic 18, community clinic 38.

Natural Disasters The cyclone, originated from the eastern region of meghna, of 9-10 and 30-31 October 1960 caused huge damages to settlements, livestock and crops of the upazila. The eastern part of the upazila is under constant threat due to river erosion.

NGO activities asa, World Vision, NGO Forum for Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation. [Moazzem Hussain Firoj]

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