Haimchar Upazila

Haimchar Upazila (chandpur district) area 134.16 sq km, located in between 23°00' and 23°10' north latitudes and in between 90°32' and 90°42' east longitudes. It is bounded by chandpur sadar and bhedarganj upazilas on the north, hizla upazila on the south, raipur and faridganj upazilas on the east, gosairhat upazila on the west.

Population Total 109575; male 53651, female 55924; Muslim 104862, Hindu 4671, Christian 15 and others 27.

Water bodies Main river: meghna.

Administration Haimchar Thana was formed in 1976 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
-	6	28	65	8847	100728	817	54.0	47.6

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
4.84	1	8847	1828	54.0

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Uttar Algi Durgapur 11	5003	13669	15344	55.2
Dakshin Algi Durgapur 23	4730	16269	17525	56.8
Gazipur 59	2789	1901	1728	37.1
Char Bhairabi 35	2569	7338	7201	54.5
Nilkamal 71	10551	10747	10336	27.6
Haimchar 47	7512	3727	3790	27.5

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Three domed mosque and ancient graveyard at Bhingulia.

War of Liberation The activities in the War of Liberation at the upazila were carried out through a naval commando unit formed with local freedom fighters and the unit had been busy in mostly resisting the movement of war ships, gunboats and water vessels carrying supplies for the Pak army along the rivers. The freedom fighters also had encounters with Pak army at Bakharpur and some places of the upazila.

For details: see হাইমচর উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ১০।

Religious institutions Mosque 151, temple 18, tomb 4, sacred place 1. Noted religious institutions: Char Bhairabi Jami Mosque, Khandaker Bari Mosque, Jagannath Bari Mandir (Haimchar), Shree Shree Hari Mandir (Char Bhairabi) and Shree Shree Raskhakali Mandir.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 48.1%; male 48.1%, female 48.2%. Educational institutions: college 1, secondary school 10, primary school 60, madrasa 26. Noted educational institutions: Charbhanga High School (1910), Bajapti Ramani Mohan High School (1918), Nilkamal Osmania High School (1928), Haimchar Government Girls' High School, Haimchar Government Boys' High School, MJS Girls' High School, KVN High School, Durgapur High School, Char Bhairabi High School, Charsholdi KB Government Primary School (1837).

Cultural organisations Library 2, theatre group 1, cinema hall 3, club 29, women's organisation 1.'

Main sources of income Agriculture 64.37%, non-agricultural labourer 3.22%, industry 0.63%, commerce 15.01%, transport and communication 1.52%, service 6.54%, construction 0.86%, religious service 0.32%, rent and remittance 0.11% and others 7.42%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 50.14%, landless 49.86%; agricultural landowner: urban 33.18% and rural 52.50%.'

Main crops Paddy, jute, wheat, betel leaf, onion, garlic, sayabin, potato, karalla.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Kaun, sesame, linseed, mustard, sweet potato, tobacco, kalijira, arahar and khesari (pulse).

Main fruits Jackfruit, betel nut, mango, blackberry, banana, palm, wood-apple, papaya, amra, chalta, shaddock,, plum, coconut.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 127, artificial breeding centre 1,' poultry 10, nursery 14.

Communication facilities Pucca road 73 km, semi-pucca 2.71 km, mud road 229 km; waterway 60 km.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin, bullock cart.

Noted manufactories Rice mill, saw mill, ice factory.

Cottage industries Goldsmith, cane work, bamboo work, wood work.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 14, fairs 4, most noted of which are Char Bhairabi, Haimchar and Katakhali Bazar, Baishakhi Mela, Paush Parban Mela and Rath Mela.

Main exports Jute, betel leaf, onion, garlic, coconut,' betel nut, karalla, fish.

Access to electricity All the unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 37.9% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 92.3%, tap 0.3% and others 7.4%.

Sanitation 50.8% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 45.4% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 3.8% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, family welfare centre 2, satellite clinic 1.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are caritas, brac, Disha. [Md. Mahbubur Rahman]

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