Jhikargachha Upazila

Jhikargachha Upazila (jessore district) area 307.96 sq km, located in between 23°00' and 23°10' north latitudes and in between 89°00' and 89°10' east longitudes. It is bounded by chaugachha upazila on the north, manirampur and kalaroa upazilas on the south, jessore sadar and Manirampur upazilas on the east, sharsha upazila on the west.

Population Total 298908; male 147127, female 151781; Muslim 281762, Hindu 14408, Christian 2649 and others 89.

Water bodies Main rivers: kobadak, betna; Khoromda Beel, Samundar Beel, Budhkhan Beel, Tepra Beel, Ujjalpur Baor are notable.

Administration Jhikargachha Thana was formed in 1909 and it was turned into an upazila in 1983. Jhikargachha Municipality was formed in 1988.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
1	11	158	174	41439	257489	971	59.32 (2001)	51.4

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
9.42 (2001)	9	15	32774	2955 (2001)	64.4

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
10.85 (2001)	4	8665	741 (2001)	57.8

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Ganganandapur 29	7547	12054	12254	47.1
Gadkhali 35	6094	13326	13566	54.4
Jhikargachha 47	6535	13977	13646	50.1
Nabharan 59	6306	14363	15132	49.5
Nibaskhola 65	6662	11143	11617	54.2
Panisara 71	6057	10738	11090	51.1
Bankra 25	6716	10623	11142	51.8
Magura 53	7612	12897	13343	54.1
Shankarpur 83	6216	11632	11999	46.1
Shimulia 89	7074	9932	10413	56.0
Hajirbagh 41	6951	10397	10850	54.6

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

Archaeological heritage and relics Remnants of the Rajbari of Mukut Roy at Laujani (12th century), Dargah Jami Mosque of Gazi Kalu (Kayemkola, Magura), Church of Our Lady of the Rojari (Shimulia).

War of Liberation In the month of April 1971, the Pak army brutally killed many people at Krishnapur. bir srestha nur mohammad sheikh was killed on 5 September in an encounter with the Pak army at village Goalhati (Ganganandapur union). Jhikargachha was liberated on 6 December. There is a mass killing site at Goalhati of the upazila; a memorial monument has been built in Jihikargachha.

For details: see ঝিকরগাছা উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ৪।

Religious institutions Mosque 305, temple 17, church 4. Noted religious institutions: Kayemkola Mosque, Kali Mandir at Gadkhali.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 53.0%; male 55.3%, female 50.9%. Noted educational institutions: Shahid Mosiur Rahman Degree College (1968), ML High School (1888), Raghunathnagar Secondary School (1922), BM High School (1936), Ganganandapur Secondary School (1940), Jhikargachha Pilot Secondary Girls' School (1953), Gazir Dargah Fazil Madrasa (1955).

Newspapers and periodicals Weekly: Mazlum, Kabadak, Swaadhin Bangla, Sonar Desh; periodical: Amrita Probahini (defunct).

Cultural organisations Library 3, club 58, cinema hall 3, playground 2, theatre group 5, opera party 1.

Main sources of income Agriculture 65.97%, non-agricultural labourer 2.97%, industry 2.09%, commerce 12.84%, transport and communication 3.72%, service 4.03%, construction 1.35%, religious service 0.11%, rent and remittance 1.53% and others 5.15%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 59.34%, landless 40.66%; agricultural landowner: urban 48.15% and rural 61.01%.

Main crops Paddy, jute, mustard, pulse, wheat, potato, cotton, tuberose, vegetables.'

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Varieties of pulse.

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, blackberry, papaya, litchi, coconut, banana, betel nut.

Communication facilities Pucca road 207 km, semi-pucca road 17 km, mud road 683 km; railway 14 km.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin, bullock cart.

Noted manufactories Cold storage 2, bidi factory 1.

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

Hats, bazars and fairs Jhikargachha, Chhutipur, Kayemkola and Bankra bazars are notable.

Main exports Coconut, betel nut, tuberose, potato, vegetables, cotton, bidi.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 62.2% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 97.3%, tap 0.8% and others 1.9%.

Sanitation 58.3% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 37.0% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 4.7% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, health and family planning centre 11, upazila health centre 3.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, asa, caritas. [Firoj Ansari]

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