Sonagazi Upazila

Sonagazi Upazila (feni district) area 284.89 sq km, located in between 22°44' and 22°58' north latitudes and in between 91°19' and 91°28' east longitudes. It is bounded by feni sadar upazila on the north, companiganj (noakhali) upazila on the south, mirsharai upazila on the east, Companiganj and daganbhuiyan upazilas on the west.

Population Total 262547; male 123653, female 138894; Muslim 246209, Hindu 16208, Buddhist 97, Christian 8 and others 25. Indigenous community such as tripura belongs to this upazila.

Water bodies Main rivers: feni, little feni; Kali Das Canal is notable.

Administration Sonagazi Thana was formed in 1920 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	9	91	95	20810	241737	922	53.2 (2001)	50.7

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
-	9	14	19866	-	62.8

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
4.97 (2001)	1	944	2465 (2001)	42.1

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Amirabad 15	10921	14481	16382	50.1
Char Chandia 28	14271	19604	20988	47.8
Char Darbesh 38	12171	15170	16975	46.3
Char Majlishpur 47	4331	12401	14856	53.9
Nawabpur 76	6523	8334	9938	55.5
Bagadana 19	3337	10976	13056	53.0
Mangalkandi 57	3156	10148	11016	55.3
Matiganj 66	3364	12254	13938	51.7
Sonagazi 85	11008	10525	11639	46.4

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

War of Liberation Freedom fighters had an encounter with the Pak army on 28 July 1971 at Nawabpur in which Pak military commander Gul Mohammad was killed. On 15 August, 50 Pakistani soldiers were killed by explotion of mines planted by the freedom fighters at a place near the Satbaria Bridge. The agitated Pakistani soldiers, in retaliation, killed 5 innocent persons of Boks Ali and Sujapur Dasgram. The Pak army also conducted plundering and set many houses of the area on fire. Memorial monuments were built at 8 places of the upazila..

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

Religious institutions Mosque 276, temple 3.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 51.6%; male 52.8%, female 50.5%. Educational institutions: college 2, secondary school 20, primary school 93, community school 6, kindergarten 8, madrasa 10. Noted educational institutions: Sonagazi' Government College (1972), Mangalkandi High School (1912), Nawabpur High School (1923), Amirabad BC Laha High School (1917), Bishnupur High School (1925), Sonagazi Girls' High School, Baktermunshi Fazil Madrasa (1910), Sonagazi Fazil Madrasa (1918), Islamia Senior Madrasa (1930).

Newspapers and periodicals Upakul.

Cultural organisations Library 2, club 30, women's organisation 14, playground 20.

Main sources of income Agriculture 36.40%, non-agricultural labourer 3.35%, industry 1.58%, commerce 12.67%, transport and communication 4.40%, service 15.62%, construction 2.11%, religious service 0.56%, rent and remittance 14.04% and others 9.27%.

Main crops Paddy, wheat, potato, pulse, mustard, vegetables.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Jute, sesame, linseed, arahar, aus paddy.

Main fruits Mango, blackberry, jackfruit, papaya, banana.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 7, dairy 21, poultry 10, artificial cattle breeding centre 1.

Communication facilities Pucca road 170 km, semi-pucca road 9 km, mud road 341 km.

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

Noted manufactories Bidi factory, welding factory.

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

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 27, fairs 2, most noted of which are Baktermunshi Hat, Kazir Hat, Kutir Hat, Amir Uddin Munshi Hat, Mangalkandi Hat, Sonagazi Bazar, Bhor Bazar, Olama Bazar, Matiganj Bazar, Sonagazi' Mela and Dasher Hat Mela.

Main exports Banana, papaya, vegetables, fish.

Access to electricity All the unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 44.8% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 93.5%, tap 0.4% and others 6.1%.

Sanitation 77.4% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 19.8% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 2.8% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, family planning centre 8, satellite clinic 5, clinic 2.

Natural disasters Many people were victims of the devastating cyclones and tidal bore of 1876, 1961, 1985 and 1991; besides, these natural disasters also caused heavy damages to settlements, live stock and other properties of the upazila.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, proshika, asa, Swanirvar Bangladesh. [Mahiuddin Hossain Mahin]

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