Naria Upazila

Naria Upazila (shariatpur district) area 203.58 sq km, located in between 23°14' and 23°25' north latitudes and in between 90°18' and 90°30' east longitudes. It is bounded by zanjira, lohajang and tongibari upazilas on the north, shariatpur sadar and bhedarganj upazilas on the south, Bhedarganj and munshiganj sadar upazilas on the east, Zanjira upazila on the west.

Population Total 231644; male 109967, female 121677; Muslim 219214, Hindu 12410, Christian 7 and others 13.

Water bodies Main rivers: padma, Palong; Naria canal is notable.

Administration Naria Thana was formed in 1930 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	14	135	189	22773	208871	1138	60.5	50.8

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
9.64	9	27	22773	2362	60.5

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Kedarpur 63	2491	7444	8408	54.2
Gharisar 50	6529	11953	13352	49.8
Char Atra 31	5470	3831	3932	27.2
Chamta 25	2566	6200	7398	53.4
Japsa 56	2712	4966	5532	46.2
Dinga Manik 37	3543	10210	11648	62.9
Nasasan 82	2022	5645	5445	50.5
Noapara 88	8747	7809	7743	23.4
Fateh Jangapur 44	2139	5623	6489	56.9
Bijhari 18	3179	6379	7628	61.7
Bhumkhara 12	2721	6831	8034	57.1
Bhojeshwar 11	2704	8647	9593	58.5
Muktarer Char 69	3737	7390	8188	44.7
Rajnagar 94	3371	6220	6333	45.4

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

War of Liberation In 1971 many youths joined the war of liberation taking arms training from India. During this period the freedom fighters raided the Naria Police Station and captured arms and ammunitions. The Pak army sacked and set many settlements of the upazila on fire. Freedom Fighter Abdul Hamid Sardar of Bhojeshwar union of the upazila was killed in an encounter with the Pak army. A martyrs' Memorial has been built in the upazila.

For details: see নড়িয়া উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ৫।

Religious institutions Mosque 575, temple 34, tomb 3, math 1, ashram 2, sacred place 2.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 51.8%; male 51.7%, female 51.8%. Noted educational institutions: Naria Biharilal High School (1919), Pancha Palli GR High School (1927), Bijhari Upashi Tara Prasanna High School (1898), Kartikpur High School (1899), Lansing High School (1899), Mulfatganj Madrasa, Ahmed Nagar Madrasa.

Cultural organisations Library 3, club 15, music academy 1, shishu academy 1, shilpakala academy 1, theatre stage 1, cinema hall 3,' women organisation 4, playground 27.

Main sources of income Agriculture 47.63%, non-agricultural labourer 2.47%, industry 1.44%, commerce 20.23%, transport and communication 3.25%, service 7.59%, construction 1.23%, religious service 0.29%, rent and remittance 6.73% and others 9.14%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 57.04%, landless 42.96%; agricultural landowner: urban 39.68% and rural 58.76%.

Main crops Paddy, jute, wheat, chilli, garlic, onion, coriander.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Kaun, sesame, china.

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, blackberry, date, plum.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 6, poultry 50.

Communication facilities Pucca road 142.38 km, semi-pucca road 15.37 km, mud road 491.56 km; waterway 6 km.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin.

Noted manufactories Rice mill, ice factory, bidi factory, welding factory.

Cottage industries Goldsmith, blacksmith, potteries, weaving, wood work, tailoring.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 22, fairs 8, most noted of which are Bhojeshwar Hat, Gharisar Hat, Mulfatganj Hat, WAPDA Hat.

Main exports Jute, hilsha fish, onion, garlic.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 50.8% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 94.4%, tap 0.7% and others 4.9%. The presence of arsenic has been detected in shallow tube-well water of the upazila.

Sanitation 77.0% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 20.5% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 2.5% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, union health and family welfare centre 14, charitable hospital 4, family planning centre 9, community clinic 11, child and maternity 1.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, proshika, asa, Naria Unnayan Samity, Madaripur Legal Aid Association. [Motiur Rahman]

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