Aditmari Upazila

Aditmari Upazila (lalmonirhat district) area 195.03 sq km, located in between 25°51' and 26°03' rth latitudes and in between 89°17' and 89°28' east longitudes. It is bounded by West Bengal (India) on the rth, gangachara and lalmonirhat sadar upazilas on the south, Lalmonirhat sadar upazila on the east, kaliganj upazila on the west.

Population Total 203742; male 103316, female 100426; Muslim 167607, Hindu 35963, Buddhist 37 and others 135.

Water bodies dharla, tista and' Sharnamati rivers and Namurir Beel are table.

Administration Rangpur Collectorate was established in 1769 to facilitate the administration of the east india company. Furunbari Thana was formed under this Collectorate which was shifted to Kaliganj in 1872. Aditmari Thana was established in 1980 comprising some parts of Kaliganj Thana and it was turned into an upazila on 7 November 1983.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
-	8	58	102	18360	185382	1045	47.6	39.0

Upazila Town	Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
15.99	3	18360	1149	47.6

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Kamalabari 59	6237	13260	12669	37.69
Durgapur 41	8221	12793	12947	40.30
Palashi 77	6319	14244	13933	42.30
Bhadai 5	5178	12332	12036	47.47
Bhelabari 11	6502	12532	12131	35.71
Mahishkhocha 71	5143	12487	12006	33.35
Saptibari 83	4645	11701	11211	40.68
Sarpukur 89	5948	13967	13493	40.54

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2001,Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

History of the War of Liberation During the War of Liberation in 1971 this upazila was under Sector 6. On 4 April the Pak army launched a surprise attack on Aditmari and set on fire many houses and caused heavy damages. The Pak army killed many incent people at Lalpur on the east side of Aditmari Railway Station. Aditmari was liberated on 6 December.

Marks of War of Liberation Mass grave 1 (Batrish Hazari High School field).

Religious institutions Mosque 525, temple 80, tomb 1. Noted religious institutions: Khetu Mohammad Sarkar Jami Mosque, Sher Mamud Jami Mosque and Sharnamati Shivasram (Bateshwar).

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 39.8%; male 45.7%, female 33.8%. Educational institutions: college 3, secondary school 38, primary school 107, madrasa 38. Noted educational institutions: Aditmari Degree College (1991), Saptibari Degree College (1992), Aditmari Kanteshwar Barman Girl's Secondary School and College (1986), Mahishkhocha EM School (1931), Bhadai Girija Shankar High School (1942), Aditmari Girija Shankar High School (1942), Kumrirhat SC Bilateral High School (1949), Saptibari High School (1957), Bhelabari High School (1960), Uttar Gobdha Dakhil Madrasa (1986).

Newspapers and periodicals Sonali Probhat, Bijoy Smriti, Prochhod.

Cultural organisations Library 43, club 64, cultural society 2, rural theatre group 12, opera party 3, women organisation 1, cinema hall 2, playground 13.

Tourist spots Khetu Mohammad Sarkar's bridge and well.

Main sources of income Agriculture 77.32%, n-agricultural labourer 2.40%, industry 0.36%, commerce 9.55%, transport and communication 2.31%, service 3.26%, construction 0.48%, religious service 0.23%, rent and remittance 0.28% and others 3.81%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 64.02%, landless 35.98%; agricultural landowner: urban 61.88% and rural 64.23%.

Main crops Paddy, tobacco, potato, corn, mustard seed, vegetables.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Local varieties of Aush paddy, jute, china, kaun, varieties of pulses.

Main fruits Jackfruit, betel nut, mango, litchi, grape fruit, coconut.

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

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport palanquin, boat, horse carriage, bullock cart and buffalo cart.

Cottage industries Bidi factory.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 12, fairs 11, most ted of which are Namurir Hat, Durgapur, Shathibari, Bhelabari and Kumrir hats and Natkur Banni Mela, Majaner Mela, Dasharar Mela and Charaker Mela.

Main exports Tobacco, bidi, potato, corn, vegetables.

Access to electricity All the unions of the upazila are under rural electrocution net-work. However 6.46% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Natural resources High quality stone composed of silicate and manganese have been traced in this upazila.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 89.74%, pond 0.16%, tap 0.37% and others 9.73%.

Sanitation 15.69% (rural 14.28% and urban 30.05%) of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 41.62% (rural 42.95% and urban 28.16%) of dwelling houses use n-sanitary latrines; 42.69% of households do t have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, union health centre 1.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, proshika, asa. [Tanjimul Nayan]

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