Jhenaidah Sadar Upazila

Jhenaidah Sadar Upazila (jhenaidah district) area 467.75 sq km, located in between 23°26' and 23°36' north latitudes and in between 88°57' and 89°20' east longitudes. It is bounded by harinakunda and shailkupa upazilas on the north, kaliganj (jhenaidah) and salikha upazilas on the south, magura sadar upazila on the east, kotchandpur and chuadanga sadar upazilas on the west.

Population Total 394152; male 204256, female 189896; Muslim 349705, Hindu 44323, Buddhist 85, Christian 8 and others 31.

Water bodies Main rivers: Begabati, nabaganga.

Administration Jhenaidah Thana was formed in 1793 and it was turned into an upazila in 1984.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
1	17	268	283	88687	305465	843	63.8	42.5

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
39.62	09	34	86919	2193	64.3

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
29.75	1	1768	59	43.0

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Kalicharanpur 42	4180	7084	6593	44.67
Kumrabaria 47	6079	9203	8564	41.24
Ganna 15	8659	13036	12556	39.26
Ghorshal 21	6685	8859	8090	42.38
Dogachhi 11	4502	6117	5878	47.02
Naldanga 63	8398	10985	10266	49.92
Padmakar 68	4308	8241	7860	42.42
Paglakanai 73	2980	7116	6673	44.50
Porahati 79	8174	11495	10680	42.82
Fursandi 13	7016	8076	7625	39.22
Madhuhati 52	9127	11577	11190	35.28
Moharajpur 58	8763	12171	11547	45.16
Saganna 84	4881	9485	8873	39.49
Sadhuhati 89	6218	9992	9587	42.28
Surat 94	4144	6529	6000	44.76
Harishankarpur 31	6666	9036	8575	44.11
Halidhani 26	5014	8966	8708	42.16

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2001, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics House of Naldangar Raja, house of Salim Chowdhury (1822), Pancha Ratna Temple, tomb of Pagla Kanai at Berbari, house of KP Basu, Madhupur Neelkuthi, Dhol Samudra.

History of the War of Liberation On 16 April 1971 an encounter between the freedom fighters and the Pak army was held on the bank of the Begabati of Bishkhali in which 7 freedom fighters were killed and many were wounded.

Religious institutions Mosque 435, temple 3, church 1.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 47.4%; male 52.3%, female 42.1%. Educational institutions: college 15, polytechnic institute 1, secondary school 63, primary school 186, madrasa 40. Noted educational institutions: Government KC College (1960), Jhenaidah Cadet College (1963), Government Nurunnahar Mohila College (1985), Jhenaidah Government High School (1877), Wazir Ali High School (1903), Jhenaidah Government Girls'; High School (1954), Kanchan Nagar Model High School, Harishankarpur JC Biddapith (1918), Jhenaidah Siddikia Alim Madrasa (1967).

Newspapers and periodicals Present: Daily Jhenaidah, Daily Adhibeshan, Daily Jhenaidah Bani; weekly: Aunirvan, Bir Darpan.

Cultural organisations Library 2, club 30, cinema hall 5, theatre stage 1, theatre group 7, women society 41.

Main sources of income Agriculture 60.12%, non-agricultural labourer 3.28%, industry 1.16%, commerce 15.36%, transport and communication 5.21%, service 7.45%, construction 1.91%, religious service 0.18%, rent and remittance 0.81% and others 4.52%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 61.47%, landless 38.53%; agricultural landowner: urban 47.48% and rural 65.35%.

Main crops Paddy, jute, sugarcane, wheat, barley, betel leaf, potato, vegetables.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Sesame, linseed, sweet potato, arahar.

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, litchi, banana, papaya, date.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Dairy 13, poultry 281.

Communication facilities Pucca road 63 km, semi-pucca road 58 km, mud road 646 km.

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

Noted manufactories Pulse mill, flour mill, oil mill, rice mill, ice factory.

Cottage industries Weaving, blacksmith.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 38, most noted of which are Jhenaidah Sadar, Gopalpur, Bhatai, Tentultala, Bishaykhali, Narikelbaria and Madhupur hats.

Main exports Paddy, jute, betel leaf, banana, date molasses, vegetables.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 31.57% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 91.68%, pond 0.17%, tap 5.57% and others 2.58%.

Sanitation 25.27% (rural 16.45% and urban 57.08%) of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 41.04% (rural 44.23% and urban 29.50%) of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 33.70% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Hospital 1, upazila health complex 1, Shishu Hospital 1, eye hospital 1, diabetic hospital 1, maternity and child welfare centre 1, family welfare centre 1, maternity 1, satellite clinic 1.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, ASA, Dipshikha, Srijani. [Md Moshiur Rahman]

References Bangladesh Population Census 2001, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics; Cultural survey report of Jhenaidah Sadar Upazila 2007.