Nachole Upazila

Nachole Upazila (nawabganj district) area 283.67 sq km, located in between 24°38' and 24°51' north latitudes and in between 88°15' and 88°21' east longitudes. It is bounded by gomastapur upazila on the north-west, nawabganj sadar upazila on the south-west, tanore upazila on the south-east, niamatpur upazila on the north-east. The soil of this region is very congenial to the production of paddy.

Population Total 146627; male 72895, female 73732; Muslim 130205, Hindu 12401, Christian 2067 and others 1954. Indigenous communities such as santal, munda, oraon, Mahali belong to this upazila.

Water bodies Main river: mahananda; Lakshmikol and Damas beels are noted.

Administration Nachole Thana was formed in 1918 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	4	167	191	17364	129263	517	55.6	44.1

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
12.40	9	10	17364	1400	55.6

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Kasba 38	15183	16463	16686	42.5
Nachole 57	15184	17300	17637	49.3
Nizampur 76	18491	13836	14161	41.2
Fatehpur 19	18279	16715	16465	42.6

Source  Bangladesh Population Census 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Ali Shahpur Mosque (Fatehpur), Kalihar Zamindar Bari, Mallikpur Zamindar Bari.

Historical events In 1949, tebhaga movement spread over Nachole under the leadership of ila mitra. The peasants of Nachole, specially the Santals were the main force of this movement. This movement is known as nachole uprising and also, as Tebhaga Movement or Nachole Peasant Movement.

War of Liberation People resisting the Pak army in entering the upazila area at the beginning of the War of Liberation destroyed three bridges on the Nachole-Amnura railway line. Freedom fighters had an encounter with Pak army at Nachole in April 1971.

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

Religious institutions Uzirpur dargah, Nachole Bazar Mandir, Deupara Math are notable.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 45.5%; male 44.9%, female 46.0%. Educational institutions: college 6, technical college 3, secondary school 34, primary school 77, madrasa 18. Noted educational institutions: Nachole Degree College (1972), Nachole Mohila College (1993), Nachole High School (1957), Nachole Primary School.

Main sources of income Agriculture 73.27%, non-agricultural labourer 4.91%, industry 0.29%, commerce 9.38%, transport and communication 1.25%, service 3.54%, construction 0.67%, religious service 0.09%, rent and remittance 0.08% and others 6.52%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 43.37%, landless 56.63%; agricultural landowner: urban 45.78% and rural 43.17%.

Main crops Paddy, wheat, pulse, vegetables.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops China, koda, maara (one kind of pulse).

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, litchi, blackberry, palm, coconut, watermelon, plum.

Communication facilities Pucca road 127 km, semi-pucca road 14 km, mud road 316 km; railway 19 km.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin, horse carriage.

Cottage industries Potteries, bamboo work, cane work.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 12, fairs 6, most noted of which are Nachole Hat, Rajbari Hat, Sonaichandi Hat, Mollikpur Hat, Nizampur Hat, Verendi Golabari Hat, Durga Puja Mela at Nachole Bazar and Baishakhi Mela.

Main exports Paddy.

Access to electricity All the unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 46.7% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 75.6%, tap 21.5% and others 2.9%.

Sanitation 31.3% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 52.2% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 16.5% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, health and family planning centre 4, hospital 1, clinic 2, homeopathy dispensary 120.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, proshika, asa, caritas, BARD. [Mazharul Islam Taru]

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