Dowarabazar Upazila

Dowarabazar Upazila (sunamganj district) area 324.19 sq km, located in between 24°58' and 25°11' north latitudes and in between 91°24' and 91°43' east longitudes. It is bounded by Meghalaya state of India on the north, chhatak upazila on the south and east, sunamganj sadar upazila on the west.

Population Total 220611; male 107123, female 101683; Muslim 208744, Hindu 11544, Buddhist 291, Christian 16 and others 15.

Water bodies Main rivers: surma, Jadukata.

Administration Dowarabazar Thana was formed in 1976 and it was turned into an upazila in 1985.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
-	9	176	295	11805	208806	637	30.8	29.26

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
13.25	2	11805	891	30.82

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Dakshin Dowarabazar 27	9838	8940	8279	28.81
Duhalia 32	6539	10289	9930	23.30
Narsing Pur 92	11321	11180	10710	29.46
Pandergaon 78	7494	10253	9498	27.11
Bangla Bazar 86	7535	13821	13480	29.93
Bougla Bazar	4206	5781	5463	27.25
Mannargaon 67	8097	11229	10646	33.01
Lakshmipur 61	19551	26191	24755	35.98
Surma	6467	9439	8922	28.50

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2001, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Religious institutions Mosque 295, temple 15, church 4, tomb 1.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 30.8%; male 35%, female 26.4%. Noted educational institutions: Barkhal Multilateral School and College (1970), Somuj Ali High School and college (1984), Dowarabazar College (1993), Tengra Secondary School (1965), Aambari High School (1967), Ghilachhara Secondary High School, Kalaura Darussunnah Fazil Madrasa (1974).

Cultural organisations Club 10, playground 2.

Main sources of income Agriculture 71.14%, non-agricultural labourer 5.85%,' industry 0.32%, commerce 8.42%, transport and communication 1%, service 2.59%, construction 0.83%, religious service 0.36%, rent and remittance 1.61% and others 7.88%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 54.72%, landless 45.28%; agricultural landowner: urban 44.07% and rural 55.48%.

Main crops Paddy, wheat, pulse, potato, ginger, cotton.

Extinct and nearly extinct crops Sesame, kaun, tobacco.

Main fruits Mango, banana, jackfruit, pineapple, lemon.

Communication facilities Pucca road 57.25 km, mud road 291 km.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin, bullock cart.

Cottage industries Bamboo work, wood work and cane work.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 22, fairs 4, most noted of which are Dowarabazar, Lakshmipur Bazar, Aambari Bazar, Tengra Bazar, Baliura Bazar, Bougla Bazar; Machimpur and Jalalpur fairs are notable.

Main exports Paddy, limestone, forest resources.

Access to electricity All the unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work; however, 4.57% dwelling households have access to electricity.

Natural resources Limestone and Natural gas.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 72.75%, pond 11.77%, tap 0.46% and others 15.02%. The presence of intolerable level of arsenic has been detected in 934 shallow tube well water of the upazila.

Sanitation 15.42% (urban 33.96% and rural 14.10%) of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 66.76% (urban 40.61% and rural 68.62%) of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 17.82% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, union health and family planning centre 3.

Natural disasters The hailstorm of 1991 caused huge damages to crops and plantation of the upazila. In 2005 a serious explosion occurred in the Tengratila Gas field resulting burning of gas for about a month. In this incident total damage to properties including loss of natural gas was worth Tk. 15 thousand crore.

NGO activities brac, asa, caritas. [Jayanta Singh Roy]

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