Zakiganj Upazila

Zakiganj Upazila (sylhet district) area 265.68 sq km, located in between 24°51' and 25°00' north latitudes and in between 92°13' and 92°30' east longitudes. It is bounded by kanaighat upazila and Meghalaya state of India on the north, assam state of India on the south and east, beanibazar upazila on the west.

Population Total 237137; male 117354, female 119783; Muslim 213785, Hindu 23339, Christian 11, Buddhist 1 and others 1.

Water bodies Main rivers: surma, kushiyara; Balai Haor; Dhankuri Beel, Dubail Beel, Singaikuri Beel are notable.

Administration Zakiganj Thana was formed in 1947 and it was turned into an upazila in 1983.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
1	9	117	278	20806	216331	893	48.75 (2001)	49.4

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
6.39 (2001)	9	25	16398	1684 (2001)	51.8

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
9.56 (2001)	2	4408	582 (2001)	39.7

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Kajalshar 47	8969	13274	13910	47.2
Khas Kanakpur 38	4521	8692	9933	52.3
Kholachhara 57	6823	10486	10273	33.5
Zakiganj 85	3529	7155	7444	44.2
Bara Thakuri 19	6086	11711	11574	55.7
Barahal 15	10942	16318	16809	50.9
Birasree 28	7466	12089	12452	41.5
Manikpur 66	9813	16477	16080	55.1
Sultanpur 76	5469	12958	13104	55.7

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

Archaeological heritage and relics Nawabi Mosque at Khilgram, Sajid Bazar Mosque, Gayibi Dighi at Bara Thakuri (a stone inscription of 400 years old, now preserved in the Bangladesh national museum, has been discovered from this dighi).

War of Liberation The Pak army entered Zakiganj in April 1971 for the first time. During the war of liberation the Pak army conducted mass killing and extensive plundering in the upazila; they also set many houses on fire. Freedom fighters had many encounters in the upazila most the notable among them were at Atgram and Zakiganj. There are 2 mass graves (at Atgram Bazar and Kaliganj Bazar) in the upazila; also, there is a memorial plate by the side of the central Shahid Minar of Zakiganj and another memorial plate by the side of the graves of the three freedom fighters martyred in the fight at Atgram.

For details: see জকিগঞ্জ উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ৩।

Religious institutions Mosque 463, temple 73, tomb 9.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 49.4%; male 51.9%, female 47.0%. Educational institutions: college 4, secondary school 23, primary school 127, community school 14, kindergarten 4, madrasa 47. Noted educational institutions: Gurusadoy High School (1857), Barahal Ahia High School ((1935), Ichamati Bohumukhi High School (1957), Phultali Alia Madrasa (1920).

Newspapers and periodicals Quaterly: Banshari; defunct: Shishir.

Cultural organizations Library 3, club 8, press club 1, literary society 1, playground 10.

Main sources of income Agriculture 46.06%, non-agricultural labourer 9.06%, industry 0.74%, commerce 12.84%, transport and communication 1.64%, service 5.80%, construction 1.84%, religious service 1.19%, rent and remittance 6.93% and others 13.90%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 51.31%, landless 48.69%; agricultural landowner: urban 44.41% and rural 51.94%.

Main crops Paddy, soybean, vegetables.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Sesame, mustard, sweet potato.

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, banana, papaya, betel nut.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries This upazila has a number of fisheries, dairies, poultries and hatcheries.

Communication facilities Roads: pucca 119 km, semi-pucca 5 km, mud road 436 km; waterway 60 km. Culvert 750, Breeze 15; Airport 1.

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

Noted manufactories Rice mill, welding factory.

Cottage industries Goldsmith, weaving, wood work, tailoring.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 3, most noted of which are Zakiganj Bazar, Kaliganj Bazar and Shahagli Bazar.

Main exports Betel nut, fish.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 30.7% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 46.0%, tap 1.7% and others 52.3%. The presence of intolerable level of arsenic has been detected 18.19% in shallow tube-well water of the upazila.

Sanitation 49.2% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 48.7% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 2.1% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health centre 1, union health and family welfare centre 10, private hospital 4.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs is brac. [Md. Abdul Hakim]

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