Gomastapur Upazila

Gomastapur Upazila (nawabganj district) area 318.13 sq km, located in between 24°44' and 24°58' north latitudes and in between 88°13' and 88°58' east longitudes. It is bounded by west bengal of India and porsha upazila on the north, shibganj (Nawabganj) and nachole upazilas on the south, niamatpur and Nachole upazilas on the east, bholahat, Shibganj (Nawabganj) upazilas and West Bengal of India on the west.

Population Total 275823; male 136321, female 139502; Muslim 256658, Hindu 15985, Buddhist 1, Christian 2415 and others 764. Indigenous communities such as santal, oraon, Munda, Mahali belong to this upazila.

Water bodies Main rivers: mahananda, punarbhaba; Kolar Beel, Kuaria Beel, Bara Beel, Baran Beel, Koral Beel, Damas Beel, Jhapai Beel and Likhria Beel are notable.

Administration Gomastapur Thana was formed in 1836 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	8	163	234	58624	217199	867	44.7 (2001)	38.8

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
14.38 (2001)	9	33	34941	2119 (2001)	56.5

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
9.57 (2001)	2	23683	2144 (2001)	40.5

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Alinagar 10	3853	7379	7901	40.6
Gomastapur 52	6946	20117	20659	39.2
Chowdala 42	4594	17293	17954	34.1
Parbatipur 63	18735	18463	18468	42.6
Bhangabaria 21	4893	12575	13063	36.5
Boalia 31	7440	13099	13821	41.2
Radhanagar 73	20044	20161	20304	42.2
Rohanpur 84	8509	9843	9782	32.7

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

Archaeological heritage and relics Stupa at village Naoda, single domed look-out tower (Rohanpur), Shahapur Garh.

War of Liberation Freedon fightgers of the upazila carried out their first attck on Rohanpur Pak army in the upazila in July. A number of Pakistani soldiers were killed and/or wounded in the attack. Freedom fighters had another fight with Pak army at Kalupur and there had been encounters also at Boalia, nandalalpur, Alinagar and Shahpur garh. There is a mass grave in the upazila.

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

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 41.2%; male 40.0%, female 42.4%. Noted educational institutions: Rohanpur Yusuf Ali College (1967), Gomastapur Soleman Mia College (1984), Rohanpur AB Government High School (1942),' Gomastapur Pilot High School (1949).

Newspapers and periodicals Protiva Bikash, Rohanpur Barta.

Cultural organisations Library 3, club 10, health club 1, cinema hall 3, women's organisation 20.

Main sources of income Agriculture 62.45%, non-agricultural labourer 4.75%, industry 1.61%, commerce 16.87%, transport and communication 1.33%, service 3.45%, construction 1.16%, religious service 0.17%, rent and remittance 0.11% and others 8.10%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 38.30%, landless 61.70%; agricultural landowner: urban 36.31% and rural 38.81%.

Main crops Paddy, potato, wheat, corn, tomato vegetables.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Mustard, linseed, kaun, arhar.

Main fruits Jackfruit, mango, banana, water-melon.

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

Communication facilities Pucca road 194 km, semi-pucca road 31 km, mud road 459 km; railway 11 km.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin, horse carriage.

Noted manufactories Ice factory, biscuit factory, welding factory.

Cottage industries Goldsmith, blacksmith, potteries, weaving, bamboo and wood work.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 17, fairs 2, most noted of which are Rohanpur Hat, Santoshpur Hat, Gomastapur Hat, Chowdala Bazar, Parbatipur Bazar; Kalupur Mela and Parbatipur Adda Mela.

Main exports Mango, tomato, paddy, rice.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 42.4% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 90.6%, tap 6.9% and others 2.5%. The presence of arsenic in an intolerable level has been detected in 861 out of 5724 shallow tube-wells of the upazila.

Sanitation 22.4% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 58.4% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 19.2% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health centre, family planning centre, satellite health centre, eye hospital and Christian mission.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are caritas, proshika, brac, asa, BAIS, Prayas. [ Mahbubur Rahman Rana]

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