Chatmohar Upazila
Chatmohar Upazila (pabna district) area 305.63 sq km, located in between 24°06' and 24°21' north latitudes and in between 89°12' and 89°24' east longitudes. It is bounded by gurudaspur and tarash upazilas on the north, atgharia upazila on the south, faridpur (pabna) and bhangura upazilas on the east, baraigram and Gurudaspur upazilas on the west.
Population Total 239973; male 121265, female 118708; Muslim 227366, Hindu 10557, Buddhist 2046 and others 4.
Water bodies Main rivers: baral, Chiknai, atrai; Failam Beel, chalan beel, Kural Beel, Diksal Beel are notable.
Administration Chatmohar Thana was formed in 1909 and it was turned into an upazila in 1982.
| Upazila | ||||||||
| Municipality | Union | Mouza | Village | Population | Density (per sq km) | Literacy rate (%) | ||
| Urban | Rural | Urban | Rural | |||||
|
1 |
11 |
170 |
132 |
22562 |
217411 |
785 |
56.7 |
36.7 |
| Municipality | ||||||||
|
Area |
Ward |
Mahalla |
Population |
Density |
Literacy rate | |||
|
3.28 |
9 |
13 |
11614 |
3541 |
71.2 | |||
| Upazila Town | ||||||||
|
Area |
Mouza |
Population |
Density |
Literacy rate | ||||
|
12.74 |
6 |
10948 |
859 |
40.4 | ||||
| Union | ||||
| Name of union and GO code | Area (acre) | Population | Literacy rate (%) | |
| Male | Female | |||
|
Gunaigachha 43 |
4960 |
5033 |
4958 |
43.86 |
|
Chhaikhola 11 |
6413 |
11520 |
11686 |
32.70 |
|
Danthia Bamangram 25 |
9277 |
12772 |
12556 |
34.98 |
|
Parshadanga 94 |
7804 |
9578 |
8991 |
35.82 |
|
Nimaichara 86 |
6544 |
11667 |
11581 |
29.71 |
|
Failjana 34 |
8729 |
13533 |
12815 |
39.90 |
|
Bilchalan 13 |
8223 |
6995 |
7022 |
46.24 |
|
Mothurapur 70 |
3862 |
6894 |
7096 |
42.09 |
|
Mulgram 77 |
8042 |
13829 |
13123 |
35.77 |
|
Haripur 60 |
8546 |
12194 |
12246 |
38.68 |
|
Handial 51 |
9133 |
11294 |
10976 |
35.02 |
Source Bangladesh Population Census 2001,Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.
Archaeological heritage and relics Chatmohar Shahi Mosque (989 AH, 1681 AD), Khonkarni Mosque at Pathanpara, Jagannath Mandir at Handial, Snana Mandir, Kuthi or Bangala of the Seth (1779), singledomed Mosque (Handial Paik Para), tomb of Hazrat Ashraf Jhedani (R).
History of the War of Liberation In the month of October 1971 a battle was fought between the freedom fighters and the Pak army at a place on the bank of the river Chiknai near the railway bridge in which 7 freedom fighters were killed.
Marks of War of Liberation Memorial monument 1 (Gunaigachha playground).
Religious institutions Mosque 317, temple 90, tomb 3, church 4. Noted religious institutions: Chatmohar Shahi Mosque, Pathanpara Khonkarni Mosque, Mazar (tomb) of Shah Chetnor (R) at Sahapur, Mazar of Hazrat Ashraf Jhedani (R.), Mazar of Bura Pir at Handial, Jagannath Mandir at Handial, Kali Mandir at Chatmohar and Snana Mandir.
Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 38.6%; male 42.0%, female 35.1%. Noted educational institutions: Chatmohar Degree College (1970), Professor Bayen Uddin Degree College (1995), Chatmohar Mahila College (1996), Maydan Dighia Krishi College (1994), Chatmohar Raja Chandra Nath High School, Babu Sambhunath High School (1861), Haripur Durgadas High School (1925), Haripur School and College (1935), Parshadanga High School (1960), Kuyabashi Dakhil Madrasa (1974).
Newspapers and periodicals Weekly: Chatmohar Barta; extinct: Sabuj Patra, Weekly Gayana Bikashini (1873), Palli Darpan (1874).
Cultural organisations Library 5, club 55, community centre 1, cinema hall 4.
Main sources of income Agriculture 71%, non-agricultural labourer 3.22%, industry 2.24%, commerce 9.78%, transport and communication 2.64%, service 4.49%, construction 0.72%, religious service 0.17%, rent and remittance 0.15% and others 5.59%.
Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 57.43%, landless 42.57%; agricultural landowner: urban 48.85% and rural 58.29%.
Main crops Paddy, jute, wheat, potato, chilli, onion, garlic, khesari, musur, mustard, chickpea, coriander, betel nut.
Extinct or nearly extinct crops Kaun, arahar, barley, ground-nut, china, local variety of aman paddy.
Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, litchi, banana, blackberry, papaya, coconut.
Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 17, dairy 115, poultry 150, hatchery 2, nursery 16.
Communication facilities Pucca road 60 km, semi-pucca road 20 km, mud road 350 km, waterway 17 nautical miles; railway 16 km. Railway Station 3.
Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin, soari, horse carriage and bullock cart.
Cottage industries Weaving, lime industry, catechu industry, oil-mill, bamboo and cane work.
Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 27, fairs 2,' noted of which are Chatmohar Rail Bazar, Mirzapur, Mothurapur, Chatmohar Natun Bazar; Sahapur Mela and Chadak Puja Mela at Bonthar are notable.
Main exports Paddy, jute, khesari, bamboo and cane work.
Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 19.34% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.
Sources of drinking water Tube-well 91.25%, pond 0.24%, tap 0.28% and others 8.23%. The presence of arsenic at an intolerable level has been detected in the water of 36 shallow tube-wells out of 3219 shallow tube-wells of the upazila.
Sanitation 27.91% (rural 24.85% and urban 58.27%) of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 63.09% (rural 66.06% and urban 33.60%) of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 9% of households do not have latrine facilities.
Health centres Upazila health complex 1, family welfare centre 1, satellite clinic 8, eye hospital 1, clinic 3, cattle breeding centre' 1.
NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, asa. [Md Habibur Rahman]
References Bangladesh Population Census 2001, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics; Cultural survey report of Chatmohar Upazila 2007.
