Shivalaya Upazila

Shivalaya Upazila (manikganj district) area 199.18 sq km, located in between 23°44' and 23°55' north latitudes and in between 89°42' and 89°56' east longitudes. It is bounded by daulatpur (Manikganj) and ghior upazilas on the north, harirampur and goalanda upazilas on the south, Ghior and Harirampur upazilas on the east, bera and Goalanda upazilas on the west.

Population Total 171873; male 85216, female 86657; Muslim 149500, Hindu 22045, Christian 264 and others 64.

Water bodies Main rivers: padma, jamuna, ichamati.

Administration Shivalaya Thana was formed in 1919 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
-	7	205	255	5202	166671	863	64.4	52.9

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
2.82	4	5202	1845	64.4

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Arua 11	5436	6985	7040	59.5
Uthali 83	5774	12158	12544	66.7
Ulail 71	5150	12750	13062	49.4
Teota 59	14254	16718	16904	50.5
Mohadebpur 23	5200	11617	12044	48.8
Shivalaya 47	6559	13371 1	3202	52.9
Shimulia 35	6846	11617	11861	48.6

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Ekdala Fort (Amdala), Katasgarh Fort, Dhakijora Fort, Daschira Buddhist Vihara and Stupa, Navaratna Math (Teota), Teota Zamindar Bari, Machain Mosque, tomb of Shah Rustam (Machain), Tepra Kali Mandir, Sreebari (Tepra), Neelkuthi at Teota.

War of Liberation During the war of liberation in 1971 the Pak army attacked the camp of the freedom fighters located at Nayabari in November. Following the attack, the freedom fighters had a battle with the Pak army which continued for about four hours and the Pakistani soldiers were forced to retreat and leave the upazila.

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

Religious institutions Mosque 166, temple 90, church 1, tomb 5, sacred place 1. Noted religious institutions: Machain Mosque, Upazila Parisad Mosque, Sivalaya Central Mosque, Teota Mosque, Intazganj Jami Mosque, Rupsa Mosque, Anulia Mosque, Boalipara Mosque, Jafarganj Mosque, Tepra Kali Mandir, Daschira Buddhist Vihara, Navaratna Math, tomb of Shah Rustam.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 53.3%; male 57.4%, female 49.2%. Noted educational institutions: Mohadebpur Degree College (1972), Shivalaya Government High School (1961), Uthali Pilot High School (1973), Teota Academy (1891), Barangail Gopal Krishna High School (1924), Nali Bagaria Krishnachandra High School (1915).

Cultural organisations Library 1, club 34, theatre group 5, theatre stage 1, cinema hall 1.

Main sources of income Agriculture 60.92%, non-agricultural labourer 3.14%, industry 3.14%, commerce 15.14%, transport and communication 3.82%, service 8.18%, construction 1.06%, religious service 0.18%, rent and remittance 0.46% and others 6.11%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 53.10%, landless 46.90%; agricultural landowner: urban 44.05% and rural 53.36%.

Main crops Paddy, wheat, jute, potato, pulse, ground nut, sugarcane, oil seed, onion, garlic, chilli, vegetables.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Linseed, china, barley, pea, gram, sesame, kaun, sweet potato.

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, guava, coconut, palm, date.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 410, dairy 190, poultry 272, hatchery 6.

Communication facilities Pucca road 79 km, semi-pucca road 5 km, mud road 296 km; waterway 20 km. Aricha Ferry Ghat is located in this upazila.

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

Noted manufactories Electric pole factory 1, candle and agarbati factory, welding factory.

Cottage industries Goldsmith, blacksmith, weaving, potteries, brass and brass metal work, conch work, silk work, bidi factory, bamboo work, tailoring, wood work.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 19, fairs 4, most noted of which are Barangail Hat, Mohadebpur Hat, Uthali Hat, Jafarganj Hat, Teota Hat, Shivalaya Bazar, Rajganj Bazar, Tepra Bazar, Nali Bazar, Rath Mela and Baruni Mela.

Main exports Electric pole, bidi, paddy, onion, chilli, pulse, palm, oil seed, vegetables, cattle, poultry, fish, bamboo, cane, date molasses, milk.

Access to electricity All the unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 47.8% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 96.8%, tap 0.6% and others 2.6%.

Sanitation 76.5% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 20.6% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 2.9% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, satellite clinic 3, family planning centre 5, community clinic 7, eye hospital 1.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, proshika, asa. [MA Ramzan]

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