Nawabganj Upazila (Dhaka District)

Nawabganj Upazila (dhaka district) area 244.80 sq km, located in between 23°34' and 23°45' north latitudes and in between 90°01' and 90°17' east longitudes. It is bounded by singair upazila on the north, dohar upazila on the south, keraniganj, serajdikhan and sreenagar upazilas on the east, harirampur and manikganj sadar upazilas on the west.

Population Total 318811; male 149298, female 169513; Muslim 252820, Hindu 61087, Christian 4877 and others 27.

Water bodies Main rivers: ichamati, Kaliganga; Aona Canal and Bhangabhita Canal are notable.

Administration Nawabganj Thana was formed in 1874 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
-	14	188	342	16917	301894	1302	64.0	57.5

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
2.68	6	16917	6312	64.0

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Agla 11	3724	8102	9012	59.2
Kalakopa 74	1673	11133	11613	65.1
Kailail 67	8630	13051	14154	51.0
Galimpur 47	2046	6024	6920	65.5
Churain 40	5165	10896	12375	57.3
Joykrishnapur 61	4097	7496	9157	52.7
Nayansree 81	5537	12049	14720	61.3
Bakshanagar 13	2083	9668	10791	63.6
Baruakhali 33	2602	7557	8758	56.1
Barrah 27	4211	12138	13579	59.2
Bandura 20	3638	14028	16001	63.9
Jantrail 54	4797	10996	12768	55.5
Shikari Para 88	2837	8057	9567	54.8
Sholla 94	9459	18103	20098	49.9

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Braja Niketan, Hasnabad Church, Bakshanagar Church, Baghmara Math, remnants of the residence of Zamindar Khelaram Dada.

War of Liberation Nawabganj was under sector 2 during the War of Liberation and the freedom fighters of the upazila had encounters with Pak army at places like Bandura, Galimpur, Bahra-Komarganj, Agla, Nawabganj Police station, Syedpur and Agla-Andharkotha.

For details: see নবাবগঞ্জ উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ৫।

Religious institutions Mosque 485, temple 195, church 6, tomb 2. Noted religious institutions: tomb of Hazrat Afaz Uddin Shah (R) (Galimpur).

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 57.8%; male 57.7%, female 57.9%. Educational institutions: college 7, secondary school 34, primary school 109, community school 13, madrasa 4. Noted educational institutions: Bandura Holy Cross High School (1912), Churain Tarini Bama High School (1923).

Cultural organisations Club 48, community centre 1, music academy 1, cinema hall 4, cultural organisation 3, women organisation 1, theatre group 2.

Main sources of income Agriculture 31.01%, non-agricultural labourer 3.07%, industry 3.68%, commerce 12.98%, transport and communication 1.95%, service 12.26%, construction 3.82%, religious service 0.13%, rent and remittance 19.36% and others 11.74%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 42.42%, landless 57.58%; agricultural landowner: urban 25.62% and rural 43.32%.

Main crops Boro paddy, aman paddy, potato, jute, mustard, pulse.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Aus paddy, tobacco.

Main fruits Mango, guava, papaya, jackfruit, coconut, litchi, banana.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 250, dairy 240, poultry 165.

Communication facilities Pucca road 134 km, semi-pucca road 113 km, mud road 716 km; waterway 31 km; bridge 3, culvert 150.

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

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

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 41, fairs 4, most noted of which are Bairagi Paush Mela at Bandhanpara and mela of Hazrat Afaz Uddin Shah (R) at Galimpur.

Main exports Jute, cotton sari and lungi.

Access to electricity All the unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 87.4% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 96.0%, tap 1.6% and others 2.4%. The presence of arsenic has been detected in shallow tube-well water of the upazila.

Sanitation 87.0% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 11.3% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 1.7% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, union health and family welfare centre 10, community clinic 26, satellite clinic 4, family planning centre 4.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are World Vision, thengamara mahila sabuj sangha, brac, asa, proshika. [Md. Abu Hasan Farooque]

References Bangladesh Population Census 2001 and 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics; Field report of Nawabganj Upazila 2010.