Belabo Upazila

Belabo Upazila (narsingdi district) area 117.90 sq km, located in between 24°02' and 24°12' north latitudes and in between 90°46' and 90°58' east longitudes. It is bounded by katiadi and kuliarchar upazilas on the north, raipura upazila on the south, Kuliar Char and bhairab upazilas on the east, shibpur and manohardi upazilas on the west.

Population Total 190086; male 92876, female 97210; Muslim 184969, Hindu 5094, Christian 1 and others 22.

Water bodies Main rivers: old brahmaputra and arial khan.

Administration Belabo Thana, now an upazila, was formed comprising 3 unions from Manohardi upazila and 4 unions from Roypura upazila.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
-	8	51	100	20869	169217	1612	48.4	48.5

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
9.41	5	20869	2218	48.4

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Amlaba 11	3769	10641	11149	55.7
Char Ujilaba 31	1662	7574	7522	51.2
Bajnaba 13	3345	8176	8785	54.5
Belabo 20	2235	9772	9927	48.3
Binyabaid 25	4852	13639	14668	43.1
Narayanpur 59	4799	18879	19766	46.5
Patuli 71	5403	10922	11591	50.6
Sallabad 83	3070	13273	13802	43.9

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Ruins of an ancient mosque and the Mazar of Shah Irani (R) at Habashpur (Sultanate period), high rise chimney of Nilkuthi at village Mahmudabad; many archaeological relics of the pre historic and Maurya period have been discovered in villages Wari and Bateshwar of the upazila.

War of Liberation On 14 July 1971 freedom fighters of the upazila had an encounter with Pak army at a place near upazila sadar in which 5 freedom fighters including commander Abul Basher was killed. The Pak army conducted indiscriminate killed, torture and set many houses fire. The upazila was liberated on 12 December.

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

Religious institutions 'Mosque 308, temple 3, tomb 5. Noted religious institutions: Shah Irani Mosque, Belabo Bazar Jami Mosque, Belabo Mamud Ali Bepari Mosque, Jalalabad Akhra and Mandir.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 48.5%; Male 49.5%, female 47.5%. Noted educational institutions: Narayanpur Rabeya College (1986), Poradia Muslim High School (1930), Narayanpur Sarafatullah High School (1941).

Newspapers and periodicals defunct: Sabuj Pally (1926), Belabo Samachar (1983).

Cultural organisations Club 54, literacy society 1, baul academy 1, opera party 2, women's organisation 3, museum and archaeological library 1, cinema hall 2, playground 26.

Tourist spots Wari-Bateshwar Museum and Archaeological Collection (Amlaba union),' Belabo Bazar Jami Mosque, Mazar of Shah Irani' (Patuli union).

Main sources of income Agriculture 62.68%, non-agricultural labourer 2.72%, industry 1.31%, commerce 15.12%, transport and communication 2.65%, service 5.40%, construction 0.91%, religious service '0.27%, rent and remittance 1.02% and others 7.92%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 69.04%, landless 30.96%; agricultural landowner: urban' 60.16% and rural 70.10%.

Main crops Paddy, jute, garlic, turmeric, ground nut, chilli, vegetables.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Sesame, linseed, kaun, peanut, arahar, indigo.

Main fruits Jackfruit, papaya, lotkon, guava, deaua, dephal, karamcha, shaddock, kamranga.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 110, dairy 25, poultry 68.

Communication facilities Pucca road 243 km, semi-pucca 291 km, mud road 191 km.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin, bullock cart.

Cottage industries Goldsmith, blacksmith, potteries, wood work, bamboo work, cane work.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 23, fairs 6, most noted hats are Poradia, Belabo, Narayanpur, Bajnaba and Patuli hats; Shah Irani, Amlaba and Narayanpur melas are also notable.

Main exports Jackfruit, papaya, guava, lotkon, garlic, turmeric, chilli, vegetables.

Access to electricity All the unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 57.5% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 96.7%, tap 0.2% and others 3.1%.

Sanitation 56.6% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 30.2% of dwelling houses use non-sanitary latrines; 13.2% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Heath centres Upazila health complex 1, satellite clinic and family planning centre 4, clinic 14, diagnostic centre 4.

NGO activities asa, proshika, Deshsheba. [Md. Ifftekhar Uddin Bhuiyan]

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