Kotalipara Upazila

Kotalipara Upazila (gopalganj district) area 355.90 sq km, located in between 22°52' and 23°08' north latitudes and in between 89°55' and 89°08' east longitudes. It is bounded by rajoir and madaripur sadar upazilas on the north, nazirpur and wazirpur upazilas on the south, agailjhara, gaurnadi and kalkini upazilas on the east, gopalganj sadar and tungipara upazilas on the west.

Population Total 230493; male 113492, female 117001; Muslim 109344, Hindu 115125, Christian 5962, Buddhist 9 and others 53.

Water bodies Main rivers: Ghagar, Bisharkandi; Janihania Canal and Gopalganj Beel are notable.

Administration Kotalipara upazila was formed in 1983.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
1	12	101	208	11844	218649	648	53.6 (2001)	58.5

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
2.06	9	9	5808	2819	78.0

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
5.12 (2001)	5	6036	1057 (2001)	64.5

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Amtali 13	4590	8436	9401	55.1
Kalabari 39	11484	12151	12104	58.9
Kandi 47	13191	8746	8552	52.1
Kushla 55	6801	10219	11042	49.5
Ghagar 23	2112	5632	5588	63.3
Pinjuri 63	8395	10463	10910	62.9
Bandhabari 15	3832	5285	5780	53.5
Radhaganj 71	7189	10510	11042	65.1
Ramshil 79	7213	8661	8881	61.0
Suagram 94	4651	4050	4118	59.4
Sadullapur 87	13032	15422	15262	62.0
Hiran 31	4948	10964	11466	58.2

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

Archaeological heritage and relics Kotalipara Union Institution (1898), Bahutali Sikder Bari Mosque (200 years old), Dighalia Dakhina Kalibari.

War of Liberation On 14 May 1971 the Pak army killed about 150 innocent persons at Kalabari area. They also set on fire many houses of the area. The Pak army raided the Rajapur Camp of the freedom fighters (Hemayet Bahini) but they were forced to retreat failing to face the counter attack. An encounter was held between the freedom fighters and the Pak army on 14 July in which one freedom fighter was killed and the commander of Hemayet Bahini, Hemayet Uddin was wounded. On 12 October the Pak army brutally killed about 200 innocent people at Kalabari. The Pak army was defeated in a battle with the freedom fighters on 2 December. The freedom fighter captured 600 Pak soldiers and 120 local rajakars on 3 December and on this day Kotalipara was liberated. A memorial monument was built in the upazila in memory of 16 freedom fighters.

For details: See কোটালিপাড়া উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ৩।

Religious institutions Mosque 220, temple 228, church 39, tomb 1, sacred place 2.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 59.2%; male 62.1%, female 56.4%. Educational institutions: college 5, secondary school 41, primary school 152, kindergarten 4, community primary school 24, madrasa 23. Noted educational institutions: Sheikh Lutfar Rahman Adarsha Government College, Ramshil Union College, Sheikh Hasina Adarsha College, Kotalipara Union Institution, Kotalipara SN Institution, Gopalpur KN Secondary School, East Kotalipara Union High School (1925), West Kotalipara Union Institution (1923), East North Kotalipara SS Madrasa.

Cultural organisations Library 5, club 50, cinema hall 1, circuit house 1, jatra party 1, cultural organisation 2, sport organisation 2, youth organisation 19, women society 63.

Main sources of income Agriculture 70.40%, non-agricultural labourer 1.11%, industry 0.40%, commerce 13.80%, transport and communication 1.00%, service 6.14%, construction 1.34%, religious service 0.25%, rent and remittance 0.06% and others 5.50%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 84.46%, landless 15.54%; agricultural landowner: urban 54.74% and rural 85.84%.

Main crops Paddy, wheat, ground-nut, mesta.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Sesame, aus paddy, mug, china, kaun, linseed.

Main fruits Water-melon, futi, palm.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 581 (shrimp cultivation), dairy 40, poultry 173.

Communication facilities Pucca road 200 km, semi-pucca road 126 km, mud road 3633 km; waterway 64 km.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin, horse carriage.

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

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 14, fairs 5, most noted of which are Ghagar Bazar, Sikir Bazar, Kalindi Bazar and Trimukhi Bazar; Bhangarhat, Pinjuri Hat, Ramshil Hat, Dhara Basail Hat, Chowdhury Bari Hat, Pirer Bari Hat, Bandhabari Hat, Narikelbari Hat, Radhaganj Hat and Kaliganj Hat. Trimukhi, Ramshil, Kalindi, Ghagar and Kaliganj melas are notable.

Main exports Paddy, fish.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 38.6% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Natural resources Pit coal has been discovered in the in the Bagiar Beel area of the upazila.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 97.1%, tap 0.3% and others 2.5%. The presence of intolerable level of arsenic has been detected 79% in shallow tube-well water of the upazila.

Sanitation 89.1% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 7.6% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 3.3% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, satellite clinic 2, union health and family planning centre 12, clinic 1, community clinic 22.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are proshika, brac, asa, World Vision, caritas, Ashar Alo. [Swapan Kumar Gain]

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