Pirojpur Sadar Upazila

Pirojpur Sadar Upazila (pirojpur district) area 166.81 sq km, located in between 22°29' and 22°41' north latitudes and in between 89°53' and 90°02' east longitudes. It is bounded by nazirpur and nesarabad upazilas on the north, zianagar and bhandaria upazilas on the south, Nesarabad, kawkhali (Pirojpur) and Bhandaria upazilas on the east, morrelganj and kachua (bagerhat) upazilas on the west.

Population Total 163470; male 80704, female 82766; Muslim 136399, Hindu 26993, Buddhist 60, Christian 10 and others 8.

Water bodies Main rivers: Baleshwari, Kaliganga, katcha; Jujkhola Canal is notable.

Administration Pirojpur Thana was formed in 1790 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	7	64	98	60056	103414	980	77.8	65.8

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
29.49	9	30	60056	2036	77.8

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Kadamtala 25	5214	7131	7194	69.8
Kalakhali 34	4059	5117	5261	69.2
Tona 94	3607	6284	6541	69.0
Durgapur 17	4687	7190	7507	63.4
Shankarpasha 69	5405	10818	11443	63.6
Sariktala 77	4935	5641	5983	65.4
Sikdar Mallik 86	6226	8475	8829	63.6

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Rayerkati Zamindarbari, Kali Mandir.

War of Liberation In 1971 the Pak army raped and brutally killed a women named Bhagirathi for supply of information about Pak military to the freedom fighters. She was tied with a motor cycle and drugged until death and her dead body was later thrown in the Baleshwari river. Freedom fighters had an encounter with Pak army at Bagmara of the upazila. A memorial monument has been built at Baleshwari Kheyaghat.

For details: see পিরোজপুর সদর উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ৬।

Religious institutions Mosque 351, temple 145, tomb 1, sacred place 1. Noted religious institutions: 'Pirojpur Jami Mosque, Pirojpur Kalibari, Ramakrishna Math and Mission.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 70.3%; male 70.8%, female 69.8%. Noted educational institutions: Pirojpur Shaheed Suhrawardy Government College, Pirojpur Government Boys' School (1909), Parerhat Rajlakshmi Secondary School (1915), Pirojpur Government High School (1909), Kadamtala Goerge Secondary School (1912), Pirojpur Town Secondary School (1917), Khanakuniari PE Fazil Madrasa (1920).

Cultural organisations Library 9, club 35, theatre stage 1, theatre group 1, women organisation 7, cinema hall 3.

Main sources of income Agriculture 49.88%, non-agricultural labourer 5.89%, industry 1.54%, commerce 19.05%, transport and communication 3.03%, service 1.87%, construction 0.34%, religious service 9.55%, rent and remittance 0.44% and others 8.40%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 55.87%, landless 44.13%.

Main crops Paddy, wheat, sugarcane, pulse, betel leaf, pumpkin, vegetables.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Aus paddy, sweet potato.

Main fruits Banana, papaya, coconut, water-melon, betel nut, hog-plum.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries This upazila has a number of fisheries, dairies and poultries.

Communication facilities Pucca road 50 km, semi-pucca road 65 km, mud road 125 km; waterway 42 km.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin, horse carriage.

Noted manufactories Rice mill, flour mill, ice factory, saw mill, printing press, bakery, welding factory.

Cottage industries Blacksmith, weaving, bamboo work, bidi factory.

Hats, bazars and fairs Pirojpur Bazar, Kadamtala Bazar and Ghoser Hat are notable.

Main exports Banana, coconut, betel leaf, betel nut.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 55.9% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 75.9%, tap 19.5% and others 4.6%.

Sanitation 89.9% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 9.1% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 1.0% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Hospital 2, clinic 4, family planning centre 11.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, asa, CARE, proshika. [Shapna Roy]

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