Nazirpur Upazila

Nazirpur Upazila (pirojpur district) area 228.69 sq km, located in between 22°40' and 22°52' north latitudes and in between 89°52' and 90°03' east longitudes. It is bounded by tungipara, kotalipara and wazirpur upazilas on the north, pirojpur sadar and kachua (Bagerhat) upazilas on the south, nesarabad and banaripara upazilas on the east, chitalmari upazila on the west.

Population Total 180408; male 89711, female 90697; Muslim 123882, Hindu 56477, Buddhist 43 and others 6.

Water bodies Main rivers: Shailadha, Kaliganga, Baleshwari, Bisharkandi; Chatar Beel is notable.

Administration Nazirpur Thana was formed in 1903 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
-	8	68	171	4730	175678	789	69.6	59.0

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
3.33	1	4730	1420	69.6

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Dirgha 10	6638	7981	8397	68.5
Nazirpur 52	5191	9672	9683	57.8
Purba Deulbaridobra 21	8489	20913	19688	58.7
Malikhali 31	7396	10934	11016	60.6
Matibhanga 42	5975	10932	11324	53.2
Shankharikati 73	6099	8515	9134	57.3
Sekhmatia 63	6931	11502	11877	56.8
Sreeramkati 84	6343	9262	9578	64.3

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Kumarkhali Kali Mandir (18th century).

War of Liberation On 15 May 1971 the Pak army conducted mass killing in Dirgha union; they also set many houses of the union on fire. On 3 December the Pak army, in collaboration with the local razakars, killed 7 persons at villages Satkachhemia and Bainkathi. Freedom fighters of the upazila had encounters with Pak army at places like Sriramkathi, Satkachima and Madarbari. A memorial sculpture has been built at Sargabani.

For details: see নাজিরপুর উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ৫।

Religious institutions Mosque 281, temple 320, tomb 1, sacred place 2.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 59.3%; male 60.1%, female 58.5%. Educational institutions: college 5, technical college 1, secondary school 21, madrasa 4. Noted educational institutions: Matibhanga Degree College (1967), Shahid Zia College (1982), Shahid Janani Mohila College (2000), SS Haldar Technical College (2001), Malikhali Secondary School (1907), Shankharikati Secondary School (1921), Dighirjan Secondary School (1921), Dumuria Nesaria Senior Madrasa (1980).

Newspapers and periodicals Aparajoy Bangla (1994), Raktakamal (2000), Anirban (2001), Dishari (2001), Bijay Sharanika (1994), Raktakta Falgun.

Cultural organisations Library 27, club 10, theatre group 2, cinema hall 2, playground 8.

Main sources of income Agriculture 70.02%, non-agricultural labourer 2.83%, commerce 13.69%, transport and communication 1.17%, service 6.22%, construction 0.72%, religious service 0.26%, rent and remittance 0.22% and others 4.87%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 76.10%, landless 23.90%; agricultural landowner: urban 67.88% and rural 76.30%.'

Main crops Paddy, wheat, sugarcane, pulse, sweet potato, vegetables, chilli.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Jute, sesame, linseed, china, kaun.

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, banana, papaya, coconut, watermelon, betel nut, hog-plum.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 1086, dairy 69, poultry 40, hatchery 1.

Communication facilities Pucca road 50 km, semi-pucca road 57 km, mud road 372 km; waterway 210 km.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin.

Noted manufactories Ice factory 2, saw mill 5, flour mill 20, rice mill 42, oil mill 2, welding factory.

Cottage industries Blacksmith, potteries, weaving, bamboo work, tailoring.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 30, fairs 4, most noted of which are Tular Mela at Sadar, Purnachad Sadu Bari Mela at Laragram, Mela of Matua community at village Kenua Bhanga.

Main exports Coconut, betel nut, paddy.

Access to electricity All the unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 29.9% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 92.5%, tap 0.3% and others 7.2%. The presence of arsenic has been detected in 2014 shallow tube-well water of the upazila.

Sanitation 71.5% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 25.8% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 2.7% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Hospital 1, community clinic 23, EPI centre 192, satellite clinic 1, family planning centre 4.

Natural disasters The earthquake of 1762 changed the course of the rivers of the region; it also silted many water bodied as well as formed new water bodies. Many people were victims of the cyclones and tidal bore of 1822, 1831, 1909, 1960, 1970 and 1988 and famines of 1770 and 1943. The northern part of the upazila was inundated due to the floods of 1786, 1988 and 1998.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, asa. [Md. Mizanur Rahman]

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