Mahadebpur Upazila

Mahadebpur Upazila (naogaon district) area 397.66 sq km, located in between 24°48' and 25°01' north latitudes and in between 88°38' and 88°53' east longitudes. It is bounded by patnitala upazila on the north, manda and naogaon sadar upazilas on the south, badalgachhi and Naogaon Sadar upazilas on the east, niamatpur and porsha upazilas on the west.

Population Total 292859; male 146905, female 145954; Muslim 233183, Hindu 52571, Buddhist 3, Christian 417 and others 6685.

Water bodies Main rivers: atrai, Shiva; Sikari Beel and Belakuthi Beel are notable.

Administration Mahadebpur Thana was formed in 1898 and it was turned into an upazila on 15 December 1983.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
-	10	306	301	15626	277233	736	69.8	48.7

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
7.26	4	15626	2152	69.8

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Uttargram 45	7444	14615	14624	48.8
Enayetpur 38	11409	14788	14957	48.2
Khajur 57	10972	15924	15973	48.5
Chandas 19	7825	13121	13397	50.2
Cheragpur 28	10311	12004	11919	50.6
Bhimpur 15	8275	14082	13767	48.0
Mahadebpur 66	9997	20390	19558	56.8
Roygaon 76	10287	15891	15438	46.4
Safapur 85	8398	12601	12705	47.6
Hatur 47	12816	13489	13616	50.8

Source  Bangladesh Population Census 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Residence of Satish Roychaudhury (present government college building), 108-room two storied mud building, Addhabari Mandir (Khajur), Raghunath Jeu Mandir, Khoslahara Dighi, Alta Dighi, Bhim Sagar.

War of Liberation Mahadebpur was under Sector 7 during the war of liberation. During this period the Pak army conducted mass killing and heavy plundering; they also set many houses of the upazila on fire. Freedom fighters had encounters with Pak army at various places of the upazila in which 6 freedom fighters were martyred. There is a mass grave and 3 mass killing sites.

For details: see মহাদেবপুর উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ৭।

Religious institutions Mosque 360, temple 13, sacred place 2.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 49.8%; male 52.8%, female 46.8%. Educational institutions: college 6, secondary school 50, primary school 128, kindergarten 3, madrasa 27. Noted educational institutions: Mahadebpur Government College (1967), Jigatala High School (1920), Mahadebpur Sharbamangal Multilateral High School (1921), Jantigram TA High School (1926), Bagdob High School (1940), Chandas High School (1940), Saraswatipur High School (1940), Dhonjol High School (1942), Kalusahar High School (1942), Roygaon High School (1946), Joanpur High School (1964), Mahadebpur Girls' High School (1974), Jahangirpur Model High School (1983), Hamidpur Jigatala High School, Jigatala Minor School (1923), Bachra Primary School (1900), Enayetpur Multilateral Fazil Madrasa (1970).

Newspapers and periodicals Daily: Mahadebpur Samachar.

Cultural organisations Library 1, club 15, sports organisation 32, theatre group 1, women organisation 2, jatra party 1, cinema hall 3, playground 55.

Main sources of income Agriculture 78.66%, non-agricultural labourer 2.52%, industry 0.86%, commerce 8.011%, transport and communication 2.91%, service 2.93%, construction 0.6%, religious service 0.09%, rent and remittance 0.07% and others 3.25%.

Main crops Paddy, wheat, potato, sugarcane.'

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Sweet potato, kaun, barley, sesame.

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, water-melon, litchi, banana, papya.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 25, dairy 85, poultry 40, hatchery 11.

Communication facilities Pucca road 223 km, semi-pucca road 14 km, mud road 440 km; waterway 37 km; helipad 1.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin, horse carriage.

Noted manufactories Auto rice mill 1, oil mill 13, flour mill 25, saw mill 26, ice factory 5, biscuit factory 1, candy factory 1, bidi factory 2, welding factory 15, brick-field 17.

Cottage industries Goldsmith 550, blacksmith 75, potteries 325, weaving 12, bidi factory 140, embroidery 350, bamboo work 250.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 36, fairs 1, most noted of which are Mahadebpur Hat, Matajee Hat, Soti Hat, Pathakata Hat, Saraswatipur Hat and' Chakgauri Hat and Baishakhi Mela.

Main exports Paddy, rice, water-melon, sugarcane molasses, banana, papaya.

Access to electricity All the unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 38.8% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 94.2%, tap 2.4% and others 3.4%.

Sanitation 33.0% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 29.2% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 37.8% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, satellite clinic 5, family planning centre 4, family welfare centre 5, clinic 6, community clinic 35.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, asa, thengamara mahila sabuj sangha. [Chittaranjan Mandal]

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