Dhamoirhat Upazila

Dhamoirhat Upazila (naogaon district) area 300.79 sq km, located in between 25°01' and 25°13' north latitudes and in between 88°40' and 88°57' east longitudes. It is bounded by west bengal state of India on the north, badalgachhi and patnitala upazilas on the south, joypurhat sadar upazila on the east, Patnitala upazila on the west.

Population Total 184778; male 93563, female 91215; Muslim 160262, Hindu 11630, Buddhist 8, Christian 6491 and others 6387. Indigenous community such as santals belongs to this upazila.

Water bodies Main rivers: atrai, little jamuna; Chat canal are notable.

Administration Dhamoirhat Thana was formed in 1922 and it was turned into an upazila on 1 march 1984.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
1	8	205	243	17817	166961	614	58.9 (2001)	49.6

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
-	9	15	15006	-	55.5

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
4.60 (2001)	1	2811	1495 (2001)	47.6

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Agra Digun 28	8878	9366	9127	52.7
Aranagar 31	9511	12532	12279	51.9
Alampur 21	10085	12092	11881	49.9
Isabpur 52	9284	11426	11070	47.5
Omar 84	7798	8811	8541	52.1
Khelna 77	8834	8282	8057	47.8
Jahanpur 63	8542	12979	12792	44.2
Dhamoirhat 42	8640	10326	10211	52.1

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

Archaeological heritage and relics Jagadal Maha Vihara at Mahisantosh, Haragouri Mandir, Alta Dighi, Vimer Panti.

War of Liberation During the war of liberation the Pak army had camps at places like Farsipara, Pagla Dewan and Rangamati. Direct encounters between the Pak army and the freedom fighters were held at Piral Danga, Gangra, Kulfatpur and Rangamati with heavy casualty on both sides. The Pak army burnt and sacked the village Kulfatpur and killed 14 innocent villagers. 25 Pak soldiers were killed and so were freedom fighters Shree Pratap Chandra, Shree Upen and Abu Bakkar in a direct encounter between the freedom fighters and the Pak army at Mahishantosh. Freedom fighter A Kader was killed in another encounter between the freedom fighters and the Pak army at Agra Digun. Mass graves have been discovered at 2 places (Farsipara, Pagla Dewan) of the upazila.

For details: see ধামইরহাট উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ৫।

Religious institutions Mosque 285, temple 64, church 22, mission 1, tomb 7.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 50.1%; male 51.6%, female 48.6%. Educational institutions: college 15, secondary school 33, primary school 105, community school 8, NGO School 80, kindergarten 3, madrasa 45. Noted educational institutions: Dhamoirhat M.M Degree College (1970), Jagadal Adivasi School and College (1972), Dhamoirhat Mahila College (1995), Dhamoirhat Sufia Pilot High School (1904), Mangal Bari Sirajia High School (1917), Dhamoirhat Siddiqia Fazil Madrasa (1974), Mahmudpur Fazil madrasa (1959), Raghunathpur Fazil Madrasa (1965).

Newspapers and periodicals Barendra Barta (defunct) .

Cultural organisations Library 1, club 45, cinema hall 2, museum 1, women's organisation 1, playground 30.

Main sources of income Agriculture 83.10%, non-agricultural labourer 1.80%, industry 0.58%, commerce 7.14%, transport and communication 1.12%, service 3.08%, construction 0.51%, religious service 0.10%, rent and remittance 0.04% and others 2.53%.

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

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

Main fruits Mango, blackberry, jackfruit, banana, litchi, papaya, guava, watermelon.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 26, dairy' 7, poultry 45.

Communication facilities Pucca road 140.42 km, semi-pucca road 15.69 km, mud road 328.17 km; bridge 11.

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

Noted manufactories Biscuit factory, ice factory, welding factory.

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

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 25, fairs 9, most noted of which are Madarer Mela at Shankarpur, Shyampur Mela, Gakul Mela.

Main exports Banana, watermelon, vegetables.

Access to electricity All the unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 28.0% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 93.3%, tap 1.9% and others 4.8%.

Sanitation 31.8% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 30.4% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 37.8% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, Christian mission hospital 1, satellite health centre 2, family welfare centre 5, clinic 1, community clinic 8, homeo dispensary 23, ayurvedic dispensary 5.

NGO activities brac, caritas, tmss, asa, IRDA, Asray, Manab Sheba Sangstha. [Md. Badiul Alam]

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