Assasuni Upazila

Assasuni Upazila (satkhira district) area 374.81 sq km, located in between 22°21' and 22°40' north latitudes and in between 89°03' and 89°17' east longitudes. It is bounded by satkhira sadar and tala upazilas on the north, shyamnagar upazila on the south, paikgachha and koyra upazilas on the east and kaliganj and debhata upazilas on the west.

Population Total 268754; male 133990, female 134764; Muslim 196026, Hindu 71122, Buddhist 1, Christian 1342 and others 263. Munda, Chandal or Podh and Kaibarto tribal communities are belong to this upazila.

Water bodies Main rivers: kobadak, Betna, Kholpetua; Puinjala and Cheutia canals are notable.

Administration Assasuni Thana was formed in 1891 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
-	11	143	241	8585	260169	717	58.97	49.52

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
6.81	2	8585	1260.64	58.97

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Anulia 8	7055	12374	12336	45.9
Assasuni 17	8261	11841	11783	59.0
Kadakati 56	6907	7108	7012	48.6
Kulla 69	7883	12350	12212	45.5
Khajra 60	9201	12842	13204	46.4
Durgapur 43	5551	7827	8373	46.6
Pratap Nagar 77	8371	14280	14970	44.9
Baradal 25	9009	14017	14020	51.4
Budhhata 34	8286	14889	14651	45.0
Sreeula 94	10297	13029	12933	58.9
Sobhnali 86	11797	13433	13270	55.3

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Dargah of Buro Pir, Budhhata Shiva Kali Mandir, three-domed jami mosque at Shreeula and Mazar of Hazrat Shah Aziz (R).

War of Liberation On 14 August 1971 the freedom fighters damaged a ship loaded with arms and ammunitions at Mongla port by mine explosion. Freedom fighters Aftab and Sirajul Islam were killed and Imdadul Hoque, Mujibor Rahman, Khalil and Imam Bari were wounded on 15 August in an encounter with the razakars at Budhhata while they were returning to India by boat. On 16 August three freedom fighters were killed while they attacked two gun boats at river Kholpetua. Freedom fighter Manoranjan was killed and many razakars were killed or wounded in an encounter at village Goaldanga on 17 September 1971. Besides, many razakars were killed or wounded in September when the freedom fighters attacked the Chapra Rajakar camp. There is a mass killing site at Keyargati.

For details: see আশাশুনি উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ১।

Religious institutions Mosque 200, tomb 4, temple 74, church 2. Noted religious institutions: Budhata Jami Mosque, Baradal Church, Shah Abdul Aziz (R) Tomb.'

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 49.8%; male 54.9%, female 44.8%. Educational institutions: college 2, secondary school 34, primary school 148, community primary school 7, satellite school 43, NGO education centre 30, madrasa 19. Noted educational institutions: Assasuni College (1969), Sreeula Secondary School (1881), Budhata B.B.M High School (1925), Assasuni Secondary School (1940), Pratap Nagar ABS Fazil Madrasa (1952).

Newspapers and periodicals Monthly: Pralagav; quarterly: Pratya, Shradhanjali; defunct: Jagarani.

Cultural organizations Club 46, library 1, theatre group 2, cinema hall 1, opera party 1, literary society 1.

Main sources of income Agriculture 63.11%, non-agricultural labourer 5.12%, commerce 16.98%, transport and communication 1.74%, industry 0.96%, service 3.56%, construction 0.62%, religious service 0.24%, rent and remittance 0.14% and others 7.53%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 58.34%, landless 41.66%; agricultural landowner: urban 39.56% and rural 59.08%.

Main crops Paddy, jute, potato, wheat, pulses, sugarcane, vegetables.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Linseed, sesame, sweet potato, mungbean, khesari.

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, black berry, plum.

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

Communication facilities Roads pucca 161.76 km; semi-pucca road 12.65 km, mud road 543.66 km; waterway 124 km.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin, boat, horse carriage.

Manufactories Rice mill, ice factory.

Noted Hats, bazars and fairs Budhhata Hat, Mahishkur Bazar and Barada Bazar.

Main exports Shrimp, betel leaf, madur, plum, arum

Access to electricity All the unions of the upazila are under electricity net-work. However 30.7% dwellings have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 71.5%, tap 1.3% and others 27.2%. Presence of arsenic in shallow tube-well water of the upazila is excessive. In a research conducted by B. G. S and D. P. H in 2001 it known that the average presence of arsenic in shallow tube-well is 133 microgram. However, about 67% of tube-well water contain arsenic more than 150 microgram.

Sanitation 64.1% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 32.4% of dwelling houses use non-sanitary latrines; 3.5% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centers Upazila health complex 1, rural health center 1, family welfare center 7.

'Natural Disasters The famine 1770 (Siyatturer Manvantar), 1886, 1898-98, 1921, 1943 and 1974 are notable. The famine of 1921 is known as 'Sundarban Famine'; besides an earthquake was occurred in 1897 and on 29 November 1988 a devastating cyclone caused a huge number of damages in the region.

NGO brac, asa, care, Rupantar, Pallichetona, Raktakarabi, Assasuni Development Organisation. [Sachhida Nanda De]

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