Kalia Upazila

Kalia Upazila (narail district) area 301.32 sq km, located in between 22°57' and 23°07' north latitudes and in between 89°30' and 89°48' east longitudes. It is bounded by narail sadar and lohagara upazilas on the north, terokhada, mollahat and dighalia upazilas on the south, gopalganj sadar upazila on the east, abhaynagar upazila on the west.

Population Total 220202; male 109070, female 111132; Muslim 185082, Hindu 35063, Buddhist 3, Christian 49 and others 5.

Water bodies Main rivers: nabaganga, madhumati; Baranal, Boalia, Chanchari and Pateshwari beels are notable.

Administration Kalia Thana was formed in 1866 and it was turned into an upazila' on 15 December 1984.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
1	13	110	187	35744	184458	731	43.57 (2001)	56.3

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
20.83 (2001)	9	19	19678	885 (2001)	52.1

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
20.29 (2001)	6	16066	758 (2001)	46.7

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Kalabaria 47	6190	7836	8230	57.6
Khasial 63	4662	6849	7157	72.0
Chanchari 31	5146	7674	7643	56.5
Joynagar 39	5635	6926	7166	60.5
Pahardanga 79	3943	6233	6420	52.1
Purulia 94	6716	10096	10335	49.0
Peruli 87	8175	13847	14450	54.4
Bauisena 15	6868	9339	9622	52.7
Babra Hachla 13	3402	5206	5123	66.6
Mauli 71	4799	8150	8299	64.8
Salamabad 95	4621	6236	6232	47.6
Hamidpur 23	6638	7545	7529	43.7
Boranal Eliasabad 14	3280	3233	3148	45.2

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

Archaeological heritage and relics One domed Mosque at Kadamtala (Mughal period), abandoned building at village Purulia' (built by the Portuguese) and ancient underground buildings at village Araji Bansh (seventh century).

War of Liberation On 8 December 1971 the freedom fighters launched attacks on the Pak army and the razakar bases at Kalia High School and Kalia Dakbangalow. This encounters lasted for three days in which three freedom fighters were killed and so were 4 Pak soldiers and 9 razakars.

For details: see কালিয়া উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ২।

Religious institutions Mosque 293, temple 77, church 1, tomb 3.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 55.3%; male 57.0%, female 53.6%. Educational institutions: college 6, secondary school 23, primary school 144, satellite school 10, community school 1, kindergarten 1, madrasa 46, orphanage 33. Noted educational institutions: Kalia Shaheed Abdus Salam Degree College, Munshi Manik Mia Degree College, Kalia Pilot High School (1865), Kalaria Multilateral Secondary School (1931), Chanchari Purulia Secondary School (1957), PS Girl's School (1911), Barai Para Primary School (1850), Babra Primary School (1895), The Patna Academy (1912).

Cultural organisations Library 1, club 22, cinema hall 1, theatre group 5, women organisation 12.

Amusement centres ecopark 'Arunima'. Main sources of income Agriculture 62.57%, non-agricultural labourer 2.21%, industry 1.41%, commerce 14.60%, transport and communication 3.22%, service 8.28%, construction 0.78%, religious service 0.27%, rent and remittance 1.48% and others 5.18%.Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 64.50%, landless 35.50%; agricultural landowner: urban 56.60% and rural 66.04%.

Main crops Paddy, wheat, betel leaf, sesame, sweet potato.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops kaun, china, arahar. Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, papaya, futi (a variety of melon), sapodilla, guava, date, coconut.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 3581, poultry 67.

Communication facilities Pucca road 148 km, semi-pucca road 38 km, mud road 362 km; waterway 9.2 km.

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

Noted manufactories Rice mill, saw mill, ice factory, welding factory.

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

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 22; fairs 4, most noted of which are Kalia Bazar, Naraganti Bazar, Baradia Bazar, Kalabaria Bazar, Jogania Bazar, Khoraria Bazar, Chanchari Bazar, Peruli Bazar,' Charak Puja Mela and Rath Mela.

Main exports Coconut, betel leaf, date molasses.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 43.8% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 96.3%, tap 0.8% and others 2.9%. The presence of intolerable level of arsenic has been detected 73.76% in shallow tube-well water of the upazila.

Sanitation 68.0% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 30.1% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 1.9% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, family planning centre 12, satellite clinic 1, clinic 1, charitable hospital 1.

Natural disasters More than one hundred people were victims of the cyclones of 1909, 1961 and 1988; besides, it caused heavy damages to settlements, livestock and other properties of the upazila. Many people were victims of the famines of 1770 (1176 BS), 1943 and 1950. The floods of 1988 and 1998 caused heavy damages to settlements, livestock and crops of the upazila. Besides, in 1985 about 500 people of 12 villages were affected by diarrhea disease of which 25 lost their lives.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, asa, Pradipan, Jagarani Chakra. [AAM Aawhad]

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