Sarail Upazila

Sarail Upazila (brahmanbaria district) area 215.27 sq km, located in between 24°00' and 24°11' north latitudes and in between 90°59' and 91°15' east longitudes. It is bounded by nasirnagar upazila on the north, brahmanbaria sadar upazila on the south, Brahmanbaria Sadar and Nasirnagar upazilas on the east, bhairab and bajitpur upazilas on the west.

Population Total 315208; male 152389, female 162819; Muslim 291816, Hindu 23332, Buddhist 1, Christian 20 and others 39.

Water bodies Main rivers: meghna, titas, Bagadia.

Administration Sarail upazila was formed in 1990.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
-	9	67	141	46927	268281	1464	50.7	39.1

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
14.13	3	46927	3321	50.7

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Aorail 13	5556	17834	18267	48.3
Uttar Panisar 94	3810	17087	19094	36.5
Kalikachchha 28	6843	14610	15992	43.4
Chunta 19	6221	14631	17008	34.0
Noagaon 38	6767	18461	19402	36.9
Pak Shimul 47	7034	20789	21068	31.3
Shahjadapur 90	7773	11783	12498	36.2
Shahbazpur 85	5724	14668	15089	47.1
Sarail 76	3468	22526	24401	50.7

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Hatkhola Jami Mosque (seventeenth century), Sarail Shahi Jami Mosque (Mughal period), Sagardighi Mosque at Ariphail (sixteenth century), Twin Grave (under the care of the National Museum), Hatir Pool Jami Mosque at Bariura (Mughal period), Well at Hablipara (Mughal period).

War of Liberation During the war of liberation the Pak army brutally killed 80 innocent persons of Bitghar area. On 5 May the freedom fighters raided the Shahbazpur Pak army Camp and killed 9 Pak soldiers; one freedom fighter was also killed in this incident. Besides, a number of Pak army officers and the Chairman of the Sarail Peace Committee were killed and two military vehicles were destroyed by mine explosion set by the freedom fighters at a place on the north of Kalikachchha Bazar. There are mass graves at 3 places of the upazila. Memorial monuments including Martyr Muktijoddha Sheikh Mesbahuddin memorial monument and three others had been established at Bitghar, Sarail Annada Government High School compound and Sarail Degree College playground. Two roads were named after martyr freedom fighters.

For details: see সরাইল উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ১০।

Religious institutions Mosque 273, temple 24, tomb 7, sacred place 3. Noted religious institutions: Hatkhola Jami Mosque at Sarail, Sagardighi Mosque at Ariphail, Anandamoyi Kali Mandir, Gopal Jeu Mandir at Malaish, Kalikachchha Bashudev Mandir, Krishna Mandir, tomb of Kutub Shah, tomb of Kala Shah, tomb of Ayet Ali Shah, tomb of Shah Rokon Uddin Ansari (Shahjadapur), Sheikh Nazir Dargah (Suryakandi), Nimboiragi Math, Dayamoyi Ashrama of Swami Ananda Chandra.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 40.9%; male 42.1%, female 39.8%. Educational institutions: college 2, secondary school 15, primary school 123, kindergarten 7, madrasa 12. Noted educational institutions: Sarail Degree College (1970), Sarail Annada Government High School (1894), Shahbazpur Multilateral High School (1907), Chunta AC Aademy (1941).

Newspapers and periodicals Fortnightly: Sarail Juge Juge, Pargana, Sarail Barta, Muktaprobaho, Anupama Barta, Shashatta Sarail; defunct: Palli Pradip, Rayat Bandhu, Chunta Prokas (1922);' Belasyse (1993).

Cultural organisations Library 6, club 20, women's organisation 34, cinema hall 1.

Main sources of income Agriculture 60.67%, non-agricultural labourer 3.77%, industry 1.11%, commerce 13.67%, transport and communication 2.05%, service 5.5%, construction 0.83%, religious service 0.36%, rent and remittance 2.34% and others 9.7%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 59.72%, landless 40.28%; agricultural landowner: urban 38.55% and rural 63.98%.'

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

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Linseed, sesame, kaun, maize, arahar.

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, black berry, banana, papaya, coconut.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 9, dairy 62, poultry 60, hatchery 2, artificial' breeding centre 1.

Communication facilities Pucca road 48.1 km, semi-pucca road 3.4 km, mud road 320.1 km; waterway 55 km.

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

Noted manufactories Flour mill, ice factory, brick field, welding factory.

Cottage industries Blacksmith, potteries, weaving, embroidery, bamboo work,' wood work.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 14, fairs 3, most noted of which are Sarail Bikal Bazar, Pak Shimul Bazar, Tadhiura Bazar, Kalikachchha Bazar, Cattle Market (Sarail), Baghachan Mia Mela, Shahbazpur Mela and Baruni Mela of Gazi Kalu at Sarail.

Main exports Paddy, jute, wheat, leather, flour, mustard.

Access to electricity All the unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 82.1% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 95.8%, tap 0.2% and others 4.0%.

Sanitation 57.7% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 39.4% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 2.9% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, satellite clinic 4, clinic 5, family planning centre 10, veterinary hospital 1.

Natural disasters The devastating earthquake of 12 June 1897 and the cyclone of 28 April 2004 caused heavy destruction in the region. Many people were victims of the famines of 1943 and 1954. Besides, the floods of 1974, 1988, 1998 and 2004 caused heavy damages to settlement, crops and other properties of the upazila.'

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, asa. [Md. Azad Uddin Thakur]

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