Shibchar Upazila

Shibchar Upazila (madaripur district) area 332.90 sq km, located in between 23°15' and 23°30' north latitudes and in between 90°05' and 90°17' east longitudes. It is bounded by padma river, lohajang and sadarpur upazilas on the north, rajoir and madaripur sadar upazilas on the south, zanjira upazila on the east, bhanga upazila on the west.

Population Total 318220; male 156508, female 161712; Muslim 306034, Hindu 12165, Buddhist 4, Christian 8 and others 9.

Water bodies Main rivers: Padma, kumar, arial khan, Moynakata.

Administration Shibchar 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	19	101	519	32111	286109	956	51.3 (2001)	41.5

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
8.75 (2001)	9	17	24154	2261 (2001)	65.9

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
8.27 (2001)	2	7957	979 (2001)	43.4

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Umedpur 94	4856	11732	11947	48.8
Kanthalbari 52	9179	9716	9896	33.1
Kadirpur 47	4930	7337	7583	40.6
Kutubpur 58	3775	8767	8606	37.5
Char Janajat 31	7892	8706	8528	33.6
Datta Para 36	6092	11970	12373	43.5
Ditiyakhanda 42	1939	5430	5722	40.6
Nilakhi 68	3728	5924	6846	41.1
Panch Char 73	3440	10131	9121	45.2
Bandarkhola 11	3458	4496	4633	37.2
Bayratala Uttar 18	3107	5863	6380	39.7
Bayratala Dakhin 15	2308	4281	4714	37.8
Banshkandi 13	4787	9437	9999	46.3
Bhadrasan 21	2371	5020	5319	44.5
Bhandarikandi 26	3357	4771	5407	42.7
Matbarer Char 63	5252	12974	13084	43.7
Shibchar 84	1319	2626	2756	40.8
Siruail 89	3898	7644	8292	41.6
Sannyasir Char 79	4592	7807	8228	42.4

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

Archaeological heritage and relics Durga Mandir of Raja Basu, grave of Haji Shariatullah, Bandarkhola Math, Panch Char Math, remnants of Baikuntha Chowdhury Bari and residence of RashuBbabu' (Guatala).

Historical events The great Islamic reformist of Bangladesh haji shariatullah (1781-1840) was born at village Shamail of this upazila. In the nineteenth century faraizi movement was initiated in this region under his leadership, which later on, spread all over East Bengal. His son, Muhsinuddin Ahmad Alias dudu miyan (1819-1862), re-established the “Panchayet System’ in the Faraizi dominated region; he even formed a Lathial Bahini (affray fighters) for self defense. The people of this upazila played a distinctive role in the anti British movement and in the war of liberation.

War of Liberation Freedom Fighters conducted a number of operations in the upazila the most notable of which is the Shibchar Thana Operation. In this operation 14 razakars and four freedom fighters were killed. As marks of the war of Liberation ‘Swadhinata Chattar’, ‘71 Chattar’, ‘Bijoy Chattar’, Muktabangal Sculpture and Martyr Intellectual Memorial Monument have been established in the upazila.

For details: see শিবচর উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ৯।

Religious institutions Mosque 1256, temple 25, tomb 1, dargah 1, orphanage 3.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 43.5%; male 44.6%, female 42.4%. Educational institutions: college 4, secondary school 31, primary school 175, satellite school 2, community school 11, madrasa 79. Noted educational institutions: Barhamganj Government College (1964), Rijia Begum Mohila College (1985), Elias Ahmed Chowdhury College (2001), Bayratala Ideal College (2001), Nurul Amin College,' Datta Para TN Academy (1934), Bhadrasan GC Academy, Nandakumar Institution (1910), Rajarchar High School (1972), Kanthalbari High School (1962), Sheikh Fazilatunnesa High School (1974), RM High School (1930), Takerhat High School (1952), Bhandarikandi AM High' School (1953), Panchchar High School (1920),' Munsikadirpur' High School (1950), Utrail High School, Khankandi Syed Ashraf Ali High School, Bahadurpur Shariatia Alia' Madrasa.

Cultural organisations Library 4, club 29, shilpakala academy 1, press club 1, cinema hall 4, community centre 15, auditorium 1.

Main sources of income Agriculture 63.95%, non-agricultural labourer 2.16%, industry 0.81%, commerce 14.57%, transport and communication 2.18%, service 6.16%, construction 1.22%, religious service 0.15%, rent and remittance 0.71% and others 8.09%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 65.77%, landless 34.23%; agricultural landowner: urban 46.31% and rural 67.53%.'

Main crops Paddy, jute, wheat, pulse, sugarcane, onion, garlic, mustard, betel leaf, ground nut.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Kaun, arahar, china, sesame, mehti.

Main fruits Mango, blackberry, wood apple, tamarind, banana.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries dairy 20, poultry 41, hatchery 3, artificial breeding centre 1.

Communication facilities Pucca road 145 km, semi-pucca road 125 km, mud road 501 km; waterway 75 km.

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

Noted manufactories Rice mill, flour mill, oil mill, saw mill.

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

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 29, fair 1, most noted of which are Barhamganj Hat, Utrail Hat, Sheikhpur Hat, Datta Para Hat, Takerhat, Chander Char Hat, Matbarer Char Hat and Baishakhi Mela.

Main exports Ground nut, pulse, onion, garlic, betel leaf,' mustard.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 45.4% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 96.9%, tap 0.5% and others 2.6%.

Sanitation 72.7% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 25.9% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 1.4% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, family welfare centre 15, satellite clinic 3, veterinary hospital 1.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are asa, brac, CARE. [Md. Shajahan Khan]

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