Begumganj Upazila

Begumganj Upazila (noakhali district) area 238.37 sq km, located in between 22°52' and 23°06' north latitudes and in between 90°59' and 91°13' east longitudes. It is bounded by sonaimuri and chatkhil upazilas on the north, noakhali sadar, kabirhat and senbagh upazilas on the south, Senbagh upazila on the east, lakshmipur sadar and Chatkhil upazilas on the west.

Population Total 549308; male 261210, female 288098; Muslim 521206, Hindu 28049, Christian 21, Buddhist 25 and others 7.

Water bodies dakatia river and Wapda canal are notable.

Administration Begumganj Thana, now an upazila, was formed in 1892.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
1	16	178	184	132948	416360	2304	53.63 (2001)	57.9

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
15.26 (2001)	9	23	80001	3963 (2001)	67.2

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
20.71 (2001)	3	52947	2114 (2001)	58.0

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Amanullapur 12	3074	12250	14526	62.0
Alyerapur 10	3905	15393	18398	57.6
Eklaspur 42	4705	20442	21483	62.1
Kadirpur 63	3558	12711	14269	56.6
Kutubpur 66	3057	12724	14560	59.5
Gopalpur 45	4137	15201	18194	59.5
Chhayani 28	5148	16348	19136	51.4
Jirtali 56	3805	12632	14975	60.5
Durgapur 38	2812	14698	16584	54.7
Narottampur 49	1578	8722	9551	51.9
Begumganj 24	1699	9318	9992	56.1
Mir Warishpur 70	3059	14525	16521	59.4
Rasulpur 84	4428	14754	15930	64.3
Rajganj 80	4519	18288	21670	55.4
Sharifpur 87	3667	11824	14259	54.0
Hajipur 52	2175	9318	10111	58.1

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

Archaeological heritage and relics Chowdhury Bari Mosque (Mughal period) at Gopalpur.

Historical events Mahatma Gandhi visited Begumganj in a peace mission on 7 November 1946 to ease the communal riot.

War of Liberation A direct encounter between the freedom fighters and the Pak army was held on 25 April 1971 on the Chaumuhani-Lakshmipur road at Aminbazar point. On 2 July the freedom fighters attacked the razakar camp at Chandraganj High School. The Pak army killed about 50 persons at Nayahat Bazar of Gopalpur Union on 19 August; they also conducted mass torture, plundering and set many houses on fire. Begumganj Upazila was liberated on 6 August. Two memorial monuments have been built (at Choumohani and at Sonaipur).

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

Religious institutions Mosque 310, temple 14, tomb 2. Noted religious institutions: Gopalpur Chowdhury Bari Mosque, Alaypur Jami Mosque, Rasulpur Jami Mosque, Doalia Bazar Jami Mosque, Begumganj Jami Mosque.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 59.3%; Male 59.3%, female 59.2%. Educational institutions: Textile college 1, youth training centre 1, technical training centre 1, agricultural training centre 1, college 5, secondary school 66, primary school 190, madrasa 32. Noted educational institutions: Begumganj Agricultural Institute, Begumganj Textile Institute, Begumganj Vocational Training Institute, Chaumohani Saleh Ahmad College, Ghatla High School (1915), Kadirpur High School (1915), Hajipur A Majid High School (1928), Babupur Jirtali Model High School (1928), KB Union High School (1929), Begumganj Government Pilot High School, Begumganj Industrial School, Youth Training Centre.

Newspapers and periodicals Daily: Jatiyo Nishan, Noakhalir Khabar, Bangladesher Khabar, Sachitro Noakhali, Bangla Samachar, Khola Dak; Ajker Samabesh; weekly: Chalaman Noakhali, Jatiyo Bangladeshy; defunct: Purba Bangabashi, Noakhali; Sammilani, Desher Bani; monthly: Asha.

Cultural organisations Club 3, library 10, auditorium 1, theatre stage 2, press club 1, cinema hall 2, literary society and children's organisation 3, literary organisation 1.

Tourist Spots Ranir Dighi, Rangamalar Dighi in Jirtali union.

Main sources of income Agriculture 25.78%, non-agricultural labourer 2.18%, industry 0.97%, commerce 17.66%, transport and communication 4.63%, service 20.23%, construction 1.64%, religious service '0.37%, rent and remittance 12.54% and others 14.00%

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 56.30%, landless 43.70%; agricultural landowner: urban' 41.25% and rural 58.76%.

Main crops Paddy, peanut, pulse, mustard, vegetables.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Sesame, linseed, arahar, china.

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, coconut, banana, black berry, guava, papaya, betel nut.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Dairy 121, poultry 110, hatchery 7, nursery 540.

Communication facilities Pucca road 396 km, semi-pucca 36 km, mud road 1278 km; railways 9 km. Rail station 3.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport 'Palanquin, horse carriage, bullock and buffalo carts.

Noted manufactories Jute mill, paddy mill, flour mill, oil mill, biscuit factory, ice-cream factory, chemical factory, brick-field, press.

Cottage industries Goldsmith, blacksmith, weaving, potteries, embroidery, wood work, bamboo work, cane work.

Hats, bazars and fairs 'Total hats, bazars' 22, fairs 5; most noted of which are Begumganj, Sonaimuri, Chaumohani, Rajganj, Kadirpur, Dakshin Rampur, Bangla bazars and Battali and Mulluck Maydan melas.

Main exports Coconut, dry fish, rice, hoglar chatai, biscuit.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of this upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 71.2% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Natural resources Natural gas.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 89.3%, tap 6.3% and others 4.4%. The presence of arsenic has been detected in shallow tube-well water of this upazila.

Sanitation 82.7% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 15.2% of dwelling houses use non-sanitary latrines; 2.1% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Heath centres Upazila health complex 1, hospital 1, health and family welfare centre 10, family planning centre 18, maternity centre 1, community clinic 41, clinic 7.

Natural disasters The tidal bore of 12 November 1970 and the floods of 1988, 1998, and 2004 caused heavy loss of life and damages to properties and crops of the upazila.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, asa, proshika, Ghandhi Ashram Trust (GAT). [Sultan Mahmud Bhuiyan]

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