Thakurgaon Sadar Upazila

Thakurgaon Sadar Upazila (thakurgaon district) area 654.95 sq km, located in between 25°40' and 25°59' north latitudes and in between 88°15' and 88°22' east longitudes. It is bounded by atwari and boda upazilas on the north, pirganj (thakurgaon) and birganj upazilas on the south, Boda, debiganj and Birganj upazilas on the east, baliadangi and ranisankail upazilas on the west.

Population Total 581227; male 293551, female 287676; Muslim 430712, Hindu 144219, Buddhist 213, Christian 3642 and others 2441. Indigenous communities such as santal, oraon, munda, Mushar and rajbanshi belong to this upazila.

Water bodies Main rivers: tangon, nagar, Kulik, Pathari; Ulir Beel is notable.

Administration Thakurgaon Sadar Thana was formed in 1800 and it was turned into an upazila in 1984.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
1	19	194	198	93213	488014	887	66.0 (2001)	49.7

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
10.70 (2001)	12	30	80589	3912 (2001)	74.3

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
10.55 (2001)	4	12624	941 (2001)	53.0

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Auliapur 15	9183	12847	12628	43.9
Akcha 14	8361	12489	11880	51.9
Akhanagar 13	9047	12423	12135	51.4
Gareya 42	9336	15927	15736	44.4
Chilarang 31	8569	12096	11938	57.1
Jagannathpur 47	8485	16495	16148	51.8
Jamalpur 52	8697	14024	14038	50.9
Debipur 36	9329	12792	12594	56.2
Nargun 63	6816	9572	9400	55.2
Baragaon 26	7652	11259	11051	56.7
Balia 21	9088	13333	13407	38.8
Begunbari 17	8818	11033	10818	49.2
Mohammadpur 58	6152	9434	9347	52.4
Rahimanpur 68	7920	16102	15788	54.9
Rajagaon 79	8835	11660	11496	48.5
Roypur 73	9332	13105	13018	38.5
Ruhea 84	9523	18815	18595	52.2
Sukhanpukhari 94	8771	12364	12409	41.3
Salandar 89	7928	16570	15872	51.5

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

Archaeological heritage and relics Govinda Nagar Mandir, Jamalpur Jami Mosque, Karam Khan Garh, Brishamurti at Nargun Kaharpara, Khurram Khan Pond at Debipur, Govinda Jeu Mandir (eighteenth century), Shapla and Peala Dighi.

Historical events tebhaga movement spread over Thakurgaon extensively. During the Tebhaga Movement 35 peasants were killed and many were wounded when police fired on a procession.

War of Liberation Direct encounters were held between the freedom fighters and the Pak army at Bhulli, Gareya and Salandar in which many people were killed. The Pak army conducted mass killing and plundering; they also set many houses of the upazila on fire. There are mass graves at places like Sukhanpukhari, Jhatidanga, Hater Bridge, Pharabari and on the banks of river Tangon of Thakurgaon Town. Also there are mass killing sites at Sabdal Danga and BDR Camp.

For details: see ঠাকুরগাঁও সদর উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ৪।

Religious institutions Mosque 655, temple 120, church 19.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 53.3%; male 57.6%, female 48.9%. Educational institutions: technical college 1, teacher's centre 1, B.ED college 1, vocational training institute 1, vocational textile institute 1, youth training centre 2, college 9, secondary school 112, primary school 337. Noted educational institutions: Thakurgaon Government College (1957), Thakurgaon Zila School (1904), Thakurgaon Government Boys' High School (1904), Ruhea High School (1939), Madarganj MB High School (1945), Salandar Triple Kamil Madrasa.

Newspapers and periodicals Defunct daily: Thakurgaon Darpan, Sangrami Bangla, Gram Bangla, Bangladesh, Janarab; defunct literary periodicals: Aso Cheye Dekhi Prithibi, Usashi, Chalachitra.

Cultural organisations Library 10, club 68, cinema hall 10, theatre group 7, theatre stage 1, playground 43, shilpakala academy 1.

Important installations TV Relay Centre 1, Radio Station 1.

Main sources of income Agriculture 65.07%, non-agricultural labourer 3.75%, industry 0.49%, commerce 11.94%, transport and communication 4.87%, service 6.97%, construction 1.32%, religious service 0.14%, rent and remittance 0.22% and others 5.23%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 57.16%, landless 42.84%; agricultural landowner: urban 43.90% and rural 58.58%.'

Main crops Paddy, wheat, potato, sugarcane, pulse, mustard, vegetables.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Aus paddy, barley, jute.

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, litchi, banana, papaya, watermelon.

Communication facilities Pucca road 184 km, semi-pucca road 6 km, mud road 331 km; railway 33 km.

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

Noted manufactories Rice mill, sugar mill, saw mill, flour mill, oil mill, textile mill, husking mill, ice cream factory, pipe factory, chemical and pharmaceutical industry, cold storage.

Cottage industries Goldsmith, blacksmith, potteries, weaving, manufacture of jute goods, bamboo work, wood work.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 45, fairs 6, most noted of which are Gareya Hat, Bhulli Hat, Shibganj Hat, Ramnath Hat, Khochabari Hat, Pharabari Hat, Chowdhury Hat, Baradham Mela, Ruhea Mela and Muktar Mela.

Main exports Rice, pulse, potato, mango, jackfruit, litchi, watermelon, sugar, vegetables.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 47.3%of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 96.7%, tap 0.7% and others 2.6%.

Sanitation 26.6% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 50.5% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 22.9% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Hospital 1, upazila health complex 1, union health centre 12, family planning centre 19, maternity 1, diabetic hospital 1, chest diseases hospital 1, veterinary hospital 1.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, asa, CDA, RDP. [Abu Md. Iqbal Rumi Shah]

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