Subarnachar Upazila

Subarnachar Upazila (noakhali district) area 575.47 sq km, located in between 22°28' and 22°44' north latitudes and in between 90°59' and 91°20' east longitudes. It is bounded by noakhali sadar and companiganj upazilas on the north, hatiya upazila on the south, Companigang and sandwip upazilas on the east and ramgati upazila on the west.

Population Total 289514; male 143532, female 145982; Muslim 272476, Hindu 17004, Buddhist 1, Christian 29 and others 4.

Water bodies Bhulua River and Sandwip Channel.

Administration Subarnachar upazila was formed on 2 April 2005 comprising parts of Noakhali Sadar upazila.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
-	8	52	53	6651	282863	503	44.9	32.4

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
8.42	1	6651	790	44.9

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Char Amanullah 29	10856	9794	10149	33.0
Char WAPDA 37	14268	12083	12361	33.7
Char Clerk 33	16420	24693	24040	26.7
Char Jabbar 35	24368	26672	27169	30.4
Char Jubille 36	22140	22984	24644	34.5
Char Bata 31	10490	14459	15005	43.5
Purba Char Bata	12530	17812	17911	36.5
Mohammadpur	31130	15035	14703	26.5

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

War of Liberation The upazila area is formed mostly with alluvium soil raised from the riverbeds and there had been hardly any road and on the top, the freedom fighters cut off the embankment which altogether had made it difficult for Pak army to enter the upazila area during the War of Liberation. Freedom fighters had often carried out operations against razakars. A school has been established with naming it after the martyred freedom fighter Joynal Abedin.

For details: see সুবর্ণচর উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ১০।

Religious institutions Mosque 241, temple 7.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 32.7%; male 34.0%, female 31.3%. Educational institutions: college 2, secondary school 17, primary school 60, community primary school 13, madrasa 12. Noted educational institutions: Saikot Degree College (1996), Char Jabbar Degree College (1996), Shahid Joynal Abedin High School, Khaser Hat High School, Arji High School, Char Jubilee Rabbania Fazil Madrasa, Char Bata Islamia Alim Madrasa.

Cultural organisations Library 1.

Main sources of income Agriculture 70.72%, Non-agricultural labourer 6.01%, industry 0.41%, commerce 9.59%, transport and communication 1.75%, service 3.91%, construction 0.66%, religious service 0.29%, rent and remittance 0.75% and others 5.91%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 54.01%, landless 45.99%.

Main crops Paddy, wheat, soyabin, ground nut, vegetables.

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, banana, papaya, coconut, dates, betel nut.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 7, dairy 22, poultry 18. '

Communication facilities Pucca road 119.28, semi-pucca 55.21 km, mud road 184.70 km.

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

Noted manufactories Rice mill, oil mill, flour mill, ice factory, welding factory.

Cottage industries Blacksmith, potteries, weaving, embroidery, shital pati and hand operated fan works.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 49, fair 1, most noted of which are Khaser Hat, Bhuiyar Hat, Thanar Hat, Chhamir Hat, Haris Chowdhury Bazar, Wapda Bazar, Ram Govinda' Bazar and Baishakhi Mela.

Main exports Coconut, betel nut, mat, dry fish, yogurt and varieties of fish.

Access to electricity All the unions of the upazila are under rural electrification network. However 13.2% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 82.2%, tap 0.1% and others 17.7%. The presence of arsenic has been detected in the shallow tube well water of the upazila.

Sanitation 47.6% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 37.9% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 14.5% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Hospital 1, satellite clinic 7.

Natural disaster' The tidal bore of 12 November 1970 and floods of 1985, 1991 and 1998 caused heavy damages to settlements, crops and livestock of the upazila.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, proshika, asa. [Tahera Begum Rita]

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