Jamalpur Sadar Upazila

Jamalpur Sadar Upazila (jamalpur district) area 508.80 sq km, located in between 24°42' and 24°58' north latitudes and in between 89°52' and 90°12' east longitudes. It is bounded by sherpur sadar and nakla upazilas on the north, madhupur, dhanbari and muktagachha upazilas on the south, Muktagachha and mymensingh sadar upazilas on the east, melandaha, madarganj and sarishabari upazilas on the west.

Population Total 615072; male 301912, female 313160; Muslim 603230, Hindu 11336, Buddhist 2, Christian 294 and others 210. Indigenous communities such as garo and koch belong to this upazila.

Water bodies Main rivers: old brahmaputra, banar, Madardhaw; Bamunji, Singar, Chatal, Bubil and Raoha beels are notable.

Administration Jamalpur Sadar Thana was formed in 1853 and it was turned into an upazila 1983. Municipality was established in 1869.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
1	15	253	365	150172	464900	1209	55.5 (2001)	41.9

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
53.28 (2001)	12	76	142764	2270 (2001)	62.1

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
1.88 (2001)	1	7408	3814 (2001)	65.8

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Itail 23	6371	11958	12681	40.7
Kendua 35	7284	17242	18129	47.5
Ghoradhap 17	7423	14123	14709	46.8
Titpalla 89	7649	15566	16510	45.9
Tulsir Char 95	9822	13554	13618	35.5
Digpaith 19	6485	15916	16941	37.1
Narundi 53	6684	14486	15058	44.3
Banshchara 13	8948	14358	15077	43.8
Meshta 47	7250	15806	16818	43.5
Rashidpur 65	6861	13762	14622	35.5
Ranagachha 59	7402	19031	20440	48.7
Lakshmir Char 41	6424	13684	13810	32.9
Sharifpur 77	7951	21062	21905	45.7
Sahabajpur 71	8615	17606	18463	40.5
Sreepur 83	7527	12340	13033	38.8

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

Archaeological heritage and relics Tomb of Hazrat Shah Jamal (R), Dayamayee Mandir, Radhanath Jeur Mandir.

War of Liberation On 7 June 1971 the Pak army captured a number of people from the Baoushi Special Train and took them to the WAPDA military camp. On 21 June the Pak army killed 9 persons at the Shashan Ghat (cremation centre) on the bank of the Brahmaputra. Freedom fighters had an encounter with Pak army at Narundi Rail Station on 25 June 1971 and another one at Nandina in the 3rd week of August. A fierce battle took place between the Pak army and the joint troop of freedom fighters and the allied forces in the upazila on 9 December towards the end of the War of Liberation. 235 Pakistani soldiers were killed and 61 of them were arrested by the joint forces. One mass grave and one mass killing site have been discovered in the upazila; a memorial monument has been built.

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

Religious institutions Mosque 782, temple 16, church 7, pagoda 1, sacred place 1.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 47.0%; male 49.6%, female 44.5%. Educational institutions: university 5, college 2, secondary school 8, vocational training institute 1. Noted educational institutions: Government Ashek Mahmud College (1946), Government Jaheda Safir Mahila College (1967), Jamalpur Zilla School (1881), Jamalpur Government Girls' High School (1882), Shinghajani Girls' High School (1901), Shinghajani Multilateral High School (1918), Kaidola Sahabajpur High School (1920), Bangladesh High School (1924), Shreerampur Multilateral High School (1927), Rashidpur NU Fazil Madrasa (1930), Nandina Maharani Hemanta Kumari Pilot High School (1935).

Newspapers and periodicals Daily: Janabangla, Pallir Alo; weekly: Sachetan Kantha, Purba Kantha, Jamalpur Sambad, Janak, Jamalpur Satdin, Jagat, Nabatan, Jhenai, Urmee Bangla, Jamalpur Barta, Kalakal, Mukta Alo, Pallibani; Sahitya Patrika: Patai Patai, Lok, Riddhi, chhande Jhinai.

Cultural organisations Club 67, library 10, cinema hall 4, theatre stage 1, opera party 10, theatre group 13, women organisation 10, playground 58.

Tourist spots Sholakuri Hill at Nandina, Ranipukur Dighi at Sreepur, Harishchandra Dighi at Chandra.

Main sources of income Agriculture 57.48%, non-agricultural labourer 3.51%, industry 0.81%, commerce 13.44%, transport and communication 4.75%, service 7.80%, construction 1.84%, religious service 0.19%, rent and remittance 0.45% and others 9.73%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 55.76%, landless 44.24; agricultural landowner: urban 41.37% and rural 59.61%.

Main crops Paddy, jute, wheat, potato, brinjal, onion, garlic, betel leaf, mulberry, mustard, sugarcane, sweet potato.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Sesame, linseed, kaun, arahar.

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, litchi, banana, papaya, plum, custard apple, pineapple.

Fisheries, dairies, poultries Fishery 34, dairy 14, poultry 32, hatchery 4.

Communication facilities Pucca road 250 km, semi-pucca road 103 km, mud road 743 km; waterway 35 km; railway 46 km.

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

Noted manufactories Chemical industry, fertilizer factory, spices mill, rice mill, flour mill, oil mill, ice cream factory, chira (threshed rice) mill.

Cottage industries Weaving, embroidery, bidi factory, plastic goods bangle factory, toys goods, glass industry.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 52, fairs 2, most noted of which are Nandina Bazar, Anandaganj Bazar, Narundi Bazar, Kendua Bazar and Hazipur Bazars; Dayamayee Mela, Gopalpur Mela, Chaitra Sankranti Mela at Narundi and Austamir Mela at Upazila Sadar.

Main exports Jute, leather, onion, garlic, betel leaf, brinjal, pineapple, potato.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 50.0% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 96.1%, tap 0.1%, and others 3.8%.

Sanitation 53.8% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 38.4% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 7.8% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Hospital 1, railway hospital 1, satellite clinic 10, community clinic 60, maternity 1, diabetic hospital 1, leprosy clinic 1, TB clinic 1, dental clinic 1, eye hospital 1, private health complex 3, charitable hospital 1.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are asa, brac, Samaj Pragati Sangstha, Progress. [MA Rahim Talukder]

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