Meghna Upazila

Meghna Upazila (comilla district) area 99.57 sq km, located in between 23°34' and 23°41' north latitudes and in between 90°38' and 90°46' east longitudes. It is bounded by araihazar upazila (narayanganj) on the north, daudkandi upazila on the south, homna and titas upazilas on the east and sonargaon (Narayanganj) and gazaria upazilas on the west.

Population Total 112453; male 56453, female 56000; Muslim 106704, Hindu 5742, Christian 4 and others 3.

Water bodies Main rivers: meghna and Kathalia.'

Administration Meghna Thana was turned into an upazila in 1999.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
-	7	39	102	6159	106294	1129	46.2	44.5

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
4.30	1	6159	1432	46.2

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Chandanpur 19	2756	6778	6523	43.5
Chalibhanga 21	2644	6642	6491	36.4
Govindapur 43	6964	10049	10501	44.1
Barakanda 12	5011	11695	11438	46.2
Maniker Char 71	2495	7058	6860	49.9
Radhanagar 95	2374	8351	7940	48.6
Luter Char 53	3154	5880	6247	48.6

Source  Bangladesh Population Census 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Religious institutions Mosque 221, temple 6, Math 1.

War of Liberation There had been no direct fight between the freedom fighters and the Pak army in the present territory of the upazila during the War of Liberation. But local freedom fighters did have the arms training and they resisted movements of the Pak army and razakars in the area and also, took part in operation against the enemies in the neighboring Gazaria thana.

For details: see মেঘনা উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ৮।

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 44.6%; male 48.2%, female 41.0%. Educational institutions: college 2, secondary school 7, primary school 51, community primary school 1, madrasa 2. Noted educational institutions: Maniker Char College (1970), Daulat Hossain Multilateral High School (1938), Maniker Char LL High School (1946), Sonar Char High School (1967), Muzzafor Ali High School (1967), Chandanpur MA High School (1971).

Cultural organisations Library 2.

Main sources of income Agriculture 53.71%, non-agricultural labourer 1.52%, industry 0.99%, commerce 14.88%, transport and communication 1.88%, service 6.39%, construction 0.93%, religious services 0.21%, rent and remittance 6.62% and others 13.28%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 74.07%, landless 25.93%.

Main crops Paddy, jute, wheat, pulses.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Kaun, sesame.

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, coconut, kul, water melon, palm.

Communication facilities Roads: pucca 17.03 km, semi-pucca 15 km, mud road 186.69 km.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin, bullock cart.

Cottage industries Jute goods, pottery, etc.

Access to electricity All the unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 77.1% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 93.9%, tap 0.6% and others 5.5%.

Sanitation 87.6% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 10.6% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 1.8% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Hospital 1, family planning centre 7, community health clinic 7, diagnostic centre 1.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, asa, proshika, CARE. [Md. Habibur Rahman Bhuiya]

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