Nikli Upazila

Nikli Upazila (kishoreganj district) area 214.39 sq km, located in between 24°15' and 24°27' north latitudes and in between 90°52' and 91°03' east longitudes. It is bounded by karimganj and mithamain upazilas on the north, bajitpur upazila on the south, Mithamain and austagram upazilas on the east, katiadi and Karimganj upazilas on the west.

Population Total 133729; male 66997, female 66732; Muslim 127190, Hindu 6497, Christian 4 and others 38.

Water bodies Main rivers: Baulai, Dhanu, Shingua, Ghorautra; Tegulia Beel, Bara Beel, Baraliarkando Beel and Neora Beel are notable.

Administration Nikli Thana was formed in 1981 and it was turned into an upazila on 24 March 1983.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
-	7	41	125	18924	114805	624	33.5	28.1

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
5.08	2	18924	3725	33.5

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Karpasha 57	4666	7434	7615	29.4
Gurai 38	9312	8078	8172	26.4
Jaraitala 47	5433	10547	10963	25.6
Chhatir Char 23	5088	4485	4270	26.3
Dampara 27	7258	9489	9494	34.0
Nikli 76	6788	15914	15929	31.7
Singpur 85	14474	11050	10289	25.8

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Gurai Jami Mosque (1680 AD), Sapur Mosque (1700 AD), Kursa Shahi Mosque (1707).

War of Liberation In the middle of July 1971 the Pak army killed about fifty innocent people at Shashan Ghat (cremation centre). On 6 September the Pak soldiers killed 25 innocent people at village Gurai. A number of freedom fighters were killed in an encounter with the Pak army on 19 October. Nikli Upazila was liberated on 20 October. A mass killing site was discovered at a home-stead behind the Shashan Khola adjacent to Nikli Bazar.

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

Religious institutions Mosque 88, temple 17, tomb 12, akhra 5.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 28.9%; male 30.7%, female 27.0%. Educational institutions: college 1, primary school 57, kindergarten 4, madrasa 9. Noted educational institutions: Muktijoddha Adarsha College (1995), Nikli Gorachand Pilot Multilateral' High School (1938).

Cultural organisations Library 7, club 24, theatre group 2, playground 7.

Main sources of income Agriculture 72.06%, non-agricultural labourer 3.83%, industry 0.39%, commerce 10.76%, transport and communication 1.10%, service 2.74%, construction 0.75%, religious service 0.19%, rent and remittance 0.21% and others 7.97%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 50.22%, landless 49.78%; agricultural landowner: urban 42.27% and rural 51.65%.

Main crops Paddy, wheat, maize, potato, mustard, ground-nut, vegetables.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Linseed, gram, jute.

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, blackberry, banana, coconut, plum.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 431, poultry 74, hatchery 1.

Communication facilities Pucca road 29 km, semi-pucca road 1 km, mud road 186 km.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin.

Noted manufactories Rice mill, saw mill, ice factory, biscuit factory, bakery.

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

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 15, fairs 15, most noted of which are Nikli Puratan Bazar, Nikli Natun Bazar, Daspara Bazar, Majlishpur Bazar, Mela near at Gurai Mosque and Paush Samkranti Mela at Saitdhar.

Main exports Paddy, mustard, ground-nut, vegetables.

Access to electricity All the unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 51.7% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 97.3%, tap 0.1% and others 2.6%. The presence of arsenic has been detected in shallow tube-well water of the upazila.

Sanitation 31.3% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 62.3% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 6.4% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, hospital 1, family welfare centre 3, satellite clinic 2, community clinic 15, pathology centre 18.'

Natural disasters The flood of 1988 caused heavy damages to settlements, crops and other properties of the upazila.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, proshika, Swanirvar Bangladesh. [Md. Abdus Salam]

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