Madhabpur Upazila

Madhabpur Upazila (habiganj district) area 294.26 sq km, located in between 23°58' and 24°16' north latitudes and in between 91°16' and 91°25' east longitudes. It is bounded by lakhai and habiganj sadar upazilas on the north, tripura State of India on the south, chunarughat upazila and Tripura State of India on the east, brahmanbaria sadar and nasirnagar upazilas on the west.

Population Total 319016; male 155882, female 163134; Muslim 256967, Hindu 61059, Buddhist 19, Christian 932 and others 39.

Water bodies Main rivers: Matiain, Sansti.

Administration Madhabpur Thana, now an upazila, was formed in 1804.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
1	11	176	267	24,415	294601	1084	47.95 (2001)	38.7

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
7.01 (2001)	9	12	21930	2676 (2001)	50.2

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
1.31 (2001)	1	2485	1646 (2001)	64.1

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Adair 16	3660	9265	9797	32.4
Andiurauk 77	4787	9953	10193	29.4
Chowmohani 51	7871	16248	17519	49.3
Chhatiain 43	5279	11606	11599	35.4
Jagadishpur 69	5868	14116	14510	35.8
Dharmaghar 60	7074	13042	14481	51.1
Noapara 86	7570	15673	16096	44.0
Bagasura 17	5667	13794	14250	33.6
Bahara 25	6763	16025	17154	37.6
Bulla 34	6036	8315	9537	33.2
Shahjahanpur 94	10020	16739	17174	36.8

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

War of Liberation On 4 April 1971 Col. mohammad ataul ghani osmany (supreme commander of the war of liberation) and some officers of the 2nd and 4th East Bengal Regiment assembled in the Teliapara Tea Garden Dakbungalow and discussed the different aspects of the War of Liberation. Freedom fighters had encounters with the Pak army at places like Teliapara, Andiura, Mantala, Sundarpur, Dharmaghar bazaar and Harashpur. There is mass killing site in the upazila; a memorial monument has been built at Taliapara.

For details: see মাধবপুর উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ৭।

Religious institutions Mosque 254, temple 7, tomb 5.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 39.8%; male 42.2%, female 37.4%. Educational institutions: college 2, secondary school 10, primary school 119, community school 2, kindergarten 3, madrasa 8. Noted educational institutions: Govindapur Government High School (1832), Adair Loknath High School (1911), Chhatiain Biswanath High School (1921), Jagadishpur JC High School (1924), Auliabad RK High School, Harashpur Darul Ulum Islamia Madrasa.

Cultural organisations Library 3, club 8, cinema hall 2, auditorium 1, literary organisation 5, women's organisation 1, playground 5.

Important installations and Tourists spots Shahji Bazar Power Plant and tea gardens at Noapara, Jagadishpur, Taliapara and Surma.

Main sources of income Agriculture 61.43%, non-agricultural labourer 4.38%, commerce 10.79%, transport and communication 1.51%, service 6.82%, construction 0.71%, religious service 0.35%, rent and remittance 1.48% and others 12.53%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 57.37%, landless 42.63%; agricultural landowner: urban 51.62% and rural 57.76%.

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

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Sesame, sweet potato, linseed, kaun.Main fruits Mango, blackberry, papaya, coconut, jackfruit.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 16, dairy 11.

Communication facilities Pucca road 136 km, semi-pucca road 9 km, mud road 445 km; railway 31 km; waterway 2 km.

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

Noted manufactories Power plant, textile mill, soap factory, candle factory.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 28, fair 1, most noted of which are Madhabpur Bazar, Noapara Bazar, Taliapara Bazar, Mantala Bazar, Jagadishpur Bazar, Dharmaghar Bazar.

Main exports Paddy, jute.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 51.2% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Natural resources Natural gas and silicate sand.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 89.8%, tap 1.2% and others 9.0%.

Sanitation 42.8% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 45.7% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 11.5% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, union health and family welfare centre 6, family planning centre 6, community clinic 2, private clinic 1, mother and child welfare centre 2, maternity 6, charitable dispensary 2, satellite clinic 1, diagnostic centre 1, veterinary hospital 1.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, Vision, asa. [A.B.M Masud Laskar]

References Bangladesh Population Census 2001 and 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics; Field report of Madhabpur Upazila 2010.