Nesarabad (Swarupkati) Upazila

Nesarabad (Swarupkati) Upazila (pirojpur district) area 200.33 sq km, located in between 22°39' and 22°49' north latitudes and in between 90°00' and 90°12' east longitudes. It is bounded by banaripara upazila on the north, jhalokati sadar, kawkhali (Pirojpur) and pirojpur sadar upazilas on the south, Jhalokati Sadar upazila on the east, nazirpur and Pirojpur Sadar upazilas on the west.

Population Total 211032; male 103820, female 107212; Muslim 164754, Hindu 46145, Buddhist 13, Christian 115 and others 5.

Water bodies Main rivers: Swarupkati, Kaliganga, Bainakati, Belua; Gabkhana canal is notable.

Administration Nesarabad Thana was formed in 1906 and it was turned into an upazila in 1983. Swarupkati Upazila was renamed as Nesarabad Upazila in 1985.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
1 (Swarupkati)	10	80	134	48024	163008	1053	74.3 (2001)	66.5

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
4.98 (2001)	9	9	20019	3631 (2001)	79.3

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
8.54 (2001)	4	28005	3366 (2001)	72.9

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Atghar Kuriana 17	4968	8655	8699	66.3
Guarekha 38	6641	6636	7209	64.1
Jalabari 47	6506	9573	10038	69.1
Daihari 28	3836	4917	5142	65.9
Nesarabad 95	1927	6434	7090	74.8
Baldia 19	5123	15682	16808	60.4
Samudaykati 57	10411	6544	6856	65.8
Sarengkati 66	3347	5899	6328	71.7
Sutiakati 85	2927	14473	14959	69.8
Sohagdal 76	2586	14142	14929	70.1

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

Archaeological heritage and relics Gayebi mosque and three domed mosque at Barchakatigram, Sarkar Bari Pancharatna Math at Alangkarkati gram, Chakrabarti Bari Mandir at Atghar Kuriana, remnants of Rajbari at Kaurikhara and Ragbari (18th century).

War of Liberation The Pak army launched attack on Nesarabad upazila on 11 May 1971 for the first time. During the month of May and June the Pak army, in collaboration with the local razakars, conducted heavy plundering in different villages including Miar Hat and Inder Hat river ports; they also set many housed and shops of these areas on fire. Besides, they also killed about 100 persons. The Pak army killed 7 persons at a time of the same family at village Barajkati under Sohagdal union. On 10 November the Pak army and their local collaborators tied 18 innocent persons together with rope and tortured them to death in front of Barajkati Kachhari. During the war of liberation the Pak army, in collaboration with their local agents, killed about one thousand people of the upazila. They conducted the most brutal killing at Peara Bagan (guava garden) of Atghar Kuriana. After the end of the War of Liberation about 300 human skulls were collected from a ditch located behind the Kuriana College compound. Freedom fighters had encounters with Pak army at a number of places of the upazila including Atghar Kuriana and Sharshina. There is a mass grave in the upazila and a mass killing site at Barchakati.

For details: see স্বরূপকাঠি উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ১০।

Religious institutions Gayebi mosque and three domed mosque at Barchakatigram, Chakrabarti Bari mandir at Atghar Kuriana are notable.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 68.6%; male 68.9%, female 68.2%. Noted educational institutions: Swarupkati College (1965), Shahid Smrity Degree College (1986), Fazila Rahman Mohila College (1989), Kabi Guru Rabindranath Degree College (1972), Akmal Muslim Secondary School (1930), Sutiakati Union Secondary School (1909), SGS Institution, Kamarkati NK Secondary School (1917), Public Institution Secondary School (1922), Alkirhat RA Secondary School (1924), Alangkarkati MR Secondary School (1927), Sutiakati Pilot Secondary Girls' School (1927), Sharsina Darus-Sunnat Alia Madrasa (1914).

Newspapers and periodicals Kalantar, Karshan.

Cultural organisations Library 18, club 2, theatre 1, cinema hall 3, playground 50.

Main sources of income Agriculture 36.17%, non-agricultural labourer 8.96%, industry 1.44%, commerce 30.05%, transport and communication 1.69%, service 7.19%, construction 2.20%, religious service 0.24%, rent and remittance 0.39% and others 11.67%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 59.88%, landless 40.12%; agricultural landowner: urban 42.54% and rural 64.34%.

Main crops Paddy, jute, sugarcane, wheat, pulse, betel leaf, onion, garlic, vegetables.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Local varieties of paddy, kaun, arahar.

Main fruits Banana, papaya, coconut, hog-plum, lemon, blackberry, litchi, guava, betel nut.

Communication facilities Pucca road 81.25 km, semi-pucca road 160.37 km, mud road 648.38 km; waterway 40 nautical miles.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin.

Noted manufactories Coconut fiber industry, welding factory.

Cottage industries Blacksmith, bamboo work, bidi factory.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 24, fairs 7, most noted of which are Sharsina Pir Saheb Bari Mahfil, Chakrabarti Bari Shiva Chaturdarshi Mela at Karfar Thakur Bari and Atghar Kuriana.

Main exports Coconut fiber products, guava, banana, coconut, betel leaf, betel nut, hog-plum.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 54.7% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 98.7%, tap 0.1% and others 1.2%. The presence of arsenic in an intolerable level has been detected in about 90% shallow tube-well water of the upazila.

Sanitation 89.3% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 9.4% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 1.3% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, satellite clinic 2, family planning centre 12, private clinic 2, community clinic 22, EPI centre 241.

Natural disasters The earthquake of 1762 heavily changed the geological formation of the upazila and silted many water bodies. Besides, many people were victims of the flood of 1787, and the cyclones and tidal bores of 1822, 1825, 1832, 1855 and 1909; these natural disasters also caused heavy damages to settlements and other properties of the upazila.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, proshika, asa, CARE, caritas, bard. [Masud Parvez]

References Bangladesh Population Census 2001 and 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics; Cultural survey report of Nesarabad (Swarupkati) Upazila 2007.