Raipura Upazila

Raipura Upazila (narsingdi district) area 312.76 sq km, located in between 23°52' and 24°04' north latitudes and in between 90°44' and 90°59' east longitudes. It is bounded by belabo and bhairab upazilas on the north, narsingdi sadar, banchharampur and nabinagar upazilas on the south, brahmanbaria sadar and Nabinagar upazilas on the east, shibpur and Narsingdi Sadar upazilas on the west.

Population Total 535796; male 258993, female 276803; Muslim 515579, Hindu 20199, Buddhist 10, Christian 2 and others 6.

Water bodies Main rivers: meghna, arial khan, old brahmaputra.

Administration Raipura Thana, now an upazila, was formed in the middle of the nineteenth century.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
1	24	112	239	44459	491337	1713	44.9 (2001)	39.6

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
-	9	23	34904		52.9

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
13.49 (2001)	2	9555	2551 (2001)	40.2

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Adiabad 12	2743	9692	10667	53.0
Amirganj 10	3895	19305	19298	49.9
Alipura 14	2316	8055	8679	43.1
Uttar Bakharnagar 94	2416	10860	11423	35.1
Char Aralia 30	2237	6874	7171	27.5
Char Madhua 33	2119	4585	5324	28.8
Char Subuddi 37	1896	10283	11155	36.4
Chandpur 27	4981	11964	12237	25.8
Chanderkandi 23	2121	7424	8132	41.5
Daukar Char 40	1512	5085	5470	56.2
Nilakhya 71	4339	11458	12518	26.6
Palashtali 74	3967	15317	16998	47.2
Paratali 78	5674	13275	14429	26.5
Banshgari 16	3426	8353	8852	23.7
Maheshpur 47	2592	12419	13798	39.4
Marjal 50	3168	11728	12177	48.3
Mirzanagar 54	2382	10368	11290	45.7
Mirzapur 57	3196	12077	12229	47.7
Mirzar Char 61	1939	4208	4632	23.5
Musapur 64	2727	14197	14924	47.9
Radhanagar 81	2404	8329	8901	37.8
Raipura 84	1594	5398	6026	43.9
Sreenagar 91	5846	13292	14211	28.3
Hairmara 44	1601	7668	8137	42.8

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

War of Liberation In 1971 the Pak army established their camp in the present Upazila Bhaban. During the war of liberation the Pak army conducted mass killing and torture in the upazila. They also set many houses on fire. The freedom fighters destroyed many bridges and culverts of the upazila in order to disrupt communication of the Pak army. Raipura upazila was liberated on 12 December.

For details: see রায়পুরা উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ৯।

Religious institutions Mosque 655, temple 20. Noted religious institutions: Raipura Jami Mosque, Abdullapur Jami Mosque, Char Subuddi Jami Mosque.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 40.5%; male 40.9%, female 40.1%. Educational institutions: teachers training institute 1, college 5, secondary school 43, primary school 213, madrasa 51. Noted educational institutions: Primary Teachers Training Institute, Raipura Degree College, Raipura Government Technical Vocational Institute, Adarsha Technical Training College, Adiabad Islamia High School and College (1912), Raipura RKRM High School (1903), Pirijkandi High School (1924), Sirajnagar MA Pilot High School (1947), RM High School, Khidirpur High School, Raipura Pilot Girls' High School, Daulatkandi Mohiuddin High School, Abdullapur High School, Char Subuddi Junior High School, Veluar Char Nimna Secondary School, Raipura Upazila Dakhil Madrasa, Char Subuddi Dakhil Madrasa, Islampur Hamidia Dakhil Madrasa.

Cultural organisations Library 6, club 22, women society 18, cultural organisation 3, cinema hall 1.

Main sources of income Agriculture 46.49%, non-agricultural labourer 3.52%, commerce 17.18%, transport and communication 2.56%, service 5.45%, construction 1.33%, rent and remittance 4.90% and others 18.57%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 55.67%, landless 44.33%; agricultural landowner: urban 44.24% and rural 56.58%.

Main crops Paddy, jute, wheat, mustard, potato, nut, vegetables.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Jute, aus paddy, linseed, kaun, arahar.

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

Communication facilities Pucca road 190 km, semi-pucca road 19 km, mud road 925 km, railway 27 km; waterway 25 km.

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

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 40, most noted of which are Sreerampur Hat, Radhaganj Hat, Marjal Hat, Hasnabad Hat, Manipura Hat, Banshgari Hat, Hashimpur Hat, Maulavibazar Hat and Algi Bazar.

Main exports Potato, vegetables.

Access to electricity All the unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 56.4% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 97.2%, tap 0.2% and others 2.6%.

Sanitation 58.6% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 30.1% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 11.3% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, family planning clinic 17, artificial breeding centre 7, satellite clinic 2, diagnostic centre 5, veterinary hospital 1.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, asa, proshika. [Md. Ahiduzzaman Sarkar]

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