Dohar Upazila

Dohar Upazila (dhaka district) area 161.49 sq km, located in between 23°31' and 23°41' north latitudes and in between 90°01' and 90°13' east longitudes. It is bounded by nawabganj (dhaka) upazila on the north, the padma river and sadarpur upazila on the south, sreenagar and Nawabganj (Dhaka) upazilas on the east, harirampur and char bhadrasan upazilas and the Padma river on the west.

Population Total 226439; male 107041, female 119398; Muslim 215634, Hindu 10300, Buddhist 38, Christian 455 and others 12.

Water bodies Main river: Padma.

Administration Dohar Thana was formed in 1926 and it was turned into an upazila in 1983.'

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
1	8	80	133	36434	190005	1402	61.5	56.7

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
11.28	9	26	36434	3230	61.5

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Kushumhati 21	3551	10482	11764	62.8
Sutarpara 84	4404	16048	18617	56.5
Nayabari 63	2636	6737	7446	60.4
Narisha 52	5663	18336	20693	60.2
Bilaspur 13	2518	6848	7420	37.1
Mahmudpur 31	2966	8207	8639	41.8
Muksudpur 42	3691	11039	12741	60.5
Roypara 73	1782	11609	13379	60.8

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

War of Liberation During the War of Liberation the freedom fighters of the upazila had encounters with Pak army at places like Ikrashi (on the north of Kacharighat Bazar), Palamganj, dohar Police Station.

For details: see দোহার উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ৪।

Religious institutions Mosque 412, temple 60, pagoda 1, tomb 4. Noted religious institutions: Upazila Jami Mosque, Joypara Jami Mosque, Muksudpur Jami Mosque, Jagabandhu Sundar Ashram, Shiva Mandir (Roypara), Joypara Harisava.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 57.5%; male 56.9%, female 58.0%. Educational institutions: college 4, vocational training institute 1, government teacher's training institute 1, secondary school 25, primary school 55, community primary school 6, madrasa 34. Noted educational institutions: Joypara College (1972), Purbachar Government Primary School (1925), Joypara Pilot High School (1902).

Cultural organisations Library 1, club 34, auditorium 1, cinema hall 2, literary society 2, playground 50.

Main sources of income Agriculture 23.94%, non-agricultural labourer 2.66%, industry 0.89%, commerce 14.81%, transport and communication 4.16%, service 14.01%, construction 2.06%, religious service 0.18%, rent & remittance 19.96% and others 17.33%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 38.39%, landless 61.61%; agricultural landowner: urban 32.39% and rural 41.20%.

Main crops Paddy, wheat, pulse, jute, potato, vegetables.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops sesame, linseed, kaun, kusum phul, black cumin, sugarcane, garlic, methi, gram.

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, banana, papaya, black berry, star apple, guava, wood apple, plum, tamarind.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 4, dairy 150, poultry 122.'

Communication facilities Pucca road 266 km, semi-pucca road 228 km, mud road 228 km; waterway 20 km. culvert 205.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin, bullock cart, horse carriage.

Noted manufactories Cotton mill, saw mill, welding factory, bidi factory.

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

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 31, fairs 13, most noted of which are Joypara Hat, Kartikpur Hat, Kacharighat Hat, Palamganj Hat, Dohar Hat, Medhula Hat, Narisha Hat, Nurullapur Bara Fakir Bari Mela, Katakhali Maulivi Bari Mela, Nagar Chowdhury Bari Mela, Roypara Ras Mela and Latakhola-Joypara Durga Puja Mela.

Main exports Weaving cloths, wheat, vegetables.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 83.7% of the dwellings have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 95.8%, tap 1.2% and others 3.0%. The presence of intolerable level of arsenic has been detected in the shallow tube-well water of the upazila.

Sanitation 86.5% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 12.3% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 1.2% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health centre 1, family planning centre 8, satellite clinic 2, veterinary hospital 1, community clinic 8, clinic 5, diagnostic centre 4.

NGO activities proshika, asa, thengamara mahila sabuj sangha. [Md Moksed Ali]

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