Sujanagar Upazila

Sujanagar Upazila (pabna district) area 334.40 sq km, located in between 23°48' and 24°00' north latitudes and in between 89°23' and 89°38' east longitudes. It is bounded by santhia upazila on the north, rajbari sadar and pangsha upazilas on the south, bera upazila on the east, Pangsha and pabna sadar upazilas on the west.

Population Total 251192; male 130757, female 120435; Muslim 240574, Hindu 10570, Buddhist 44 and others 4.

Water bodies Main rivers: padma, atrai; Gajnar Beel, Mahishkholer Beel and Zider Beel are notable.

Administration Sujanagar Thana was formed in 1872 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	10	191	180	27894	223298	751	42.6	35.9

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate  (%)
11.08	9	12	19056	17.20	42.4

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate  (%)
10.08	2	8838	877	43.0

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Ahammedpur 17	9065	17522	16465	40.69
Tantibanda 95	6112	10507	9857	35.14
Dulai 19	7863	12799	11377	39.40
Nazirganj 47	11595	11644	10611	37.35
Manikhat 38	7566	15139	13792	42.54
Raninagar 57	9345	9001	8202	35.31
Sagarkandi 66	11172	15405	14768	26.97
Satbaria 76	6400	12001	11114	39.79
Sujanagar 85	6991	9429	8419	31.95
Hatkhali 28	6522	7464	6620	26.21

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2001, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Zamindar Bari of Tantibanda, Dulai Chowdhury (Zamindar) Bari, Hemrajpur Shiva Mandir and Durga Mandir.

Historical events During the sepoy revolt in 1857 Zamindar Govinda Chowdhury of village Tatibanda helped the British in resisting the revolt by employing guards on the banks of the Padma and jamuna against the onrusg of the rebels in crossing the rivers. In recognition of the services of the zamindar the Governor Lord Mayo had a visit in Tatibanda. Peasant rebellion and communal riot were held in Sujanagar in 1872 and 1926 respectively. On 21 February 1969, Jamadar Abul Hossain was shot dead by the police at the playground of Sujanagar High School. During the war of liberation direct encounters were held between the freedom fighters and the Pak army in different places of the upazila including at Sagarkandi, Satbaria, Bhabanipur and Nischintapur. On 14 December, three freedom fighters were killed in an encounter with the Pak army. Besides, during the War of Liberation freedom fighters Abdul Awal, Abdul Barek and Sadek were killed. Sujanagar was liberated on 15 December.

Marks of the War of Liberation Mass killing site 3 (Bhabanipur, Nischintapur and Satbaria).

Religious institutions Mosque 304, temple 58, tomb 1. Noted religious institutions: Sujanagar Jami Mosque, Satbaria Jami Mosque, Dulai Chowdhury Bari Jami Mosque, tomb of Hazrat Shah Mahtab Uddin (R) at Sagarkandi, Sideshwari Kali Mandir.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 36.7%; male 40.1%, female 33%. Educational institutions: college 7, secondary school 33, primary school 136, kindergarten 7, madrasa 6. Noted educational institutions: Satbaria College (1966), Khalilpur High School (1901), Dulai High School (1967), Durgapur Government High School, Raninagar Government High School, Ulat Siddiqia Fazil Madrasa (1915).

Newspapers and periodicals Weekly: Palli Barta.

Cultural organisations Library 25, women's organisation 7, playground 16, stadium 1, cinema hall 1.

Main sources of income Agriculture 61.17%, non-agricultural labourer 2.89%, industry 5.95%, commerce 12.73%, transport and communication 2.71%, service 5.72%, construction 0.95%, religious service 0.17%, rent and remittance 0.41% and others 7.30%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 53.50%, landless 46.50%; agricultural landowner: urban 44.85% and rural 54.59%.

Main crops Paddy, wheat, jute, sugarcane, ground nut, onion, garlic, vegetables.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Kaun, tobacco, maize.

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, litchi, papaya.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 29, dairy 128, poultry 18, hatchery 22.

Communication facilities Pucca road 98.75 km, semi-pucca road 8 km, mud road 288.25 km; waterway 38 nautical miles.

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

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

Cottage industries Goldsmith, blacksmith, weaving, bamboo work, cane work, wood work.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 32, fairs 4, most noted of which are 'Sujanagar Bazar, Nischintapur Bazar, Raipur Bazar, Shayampur Hat, Satbaria Hat, Raninagar Hat, Durgapuja Mela at Sujanagar and Joykali Bari Mela.

Main exports Onion, garlic, ground nut, sari, lungi, gamchha.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 32.06% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Natural resources' Mineral oil has been detected at village Mobarakpur of Ahammedpur union.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 94.41%, tap 00.29%, pond 0.10% and others 5.20%.

Sanitation 14.71% (rural 13.25% and urban 26.32%) of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 74.90% (rural 76.16% and urban 64.85%) of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 10.39% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, family planning centre 10, satellite clinic 3, union health and family welfare centre 5, clinic 1, community clinic 26.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, asa. [Md. Habibullah]

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