Muksudpur Upazila

Muksudpur Upazila (gopalganj district) area 309.63 sq km, located in between 23°10' and 23°22' north latitudes and in between 89°48' and 90°08' east longitudes. It is bounded by saltha, nagarkanda and bhanga upazilas on the north, gopalganj sadar and kashiani upazilas on the south, Bhanga and rajoir upazilas on the east, Kashiani and boalmari upazilas on the west.

Population Total 288205; male 146284, female 141921; Muslim 205175, Hindu 77607, Buddhist 5400 and others 23.

Water bodies Main rivers: kumar, Dignar; Atadanga Beel, Madhumati Beel Route, Basranter Canal, Batikumar Canal are notable.

Administration Muksudpur Thana, now an upazila, was formed in 1961.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
1	16	206	254	18069	270136	931	56.5	46.4

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
16.77	09	15	18069	1077	56.5

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Ujani 94	974	7360	6909	51.41
Kasalia 50	4345	6275	5892	50.34
Khandarpar 55	3403	5256	5145	52.33
Gobindapur 33	7087	11842	11409	50.49
Gohala 39	3928	10437	10097	45.94
Jalirpar 44	3755	10558	10021	48.26
Dignagar 27	6561	13125	12809	36.10
Nanikshir 72	3965	7589	7244	43.41
Pasargati 78	3759	5518	5512	43.33
Bahugram 11	3971	7642	7224	65.14
Banshbaria 16	3237	5935	5835	52.70
Batikamari 22	4084	9765	9681	38.41
Bhabrasur 10	3735	6550	6376	52.82
Maharajpur 61	5085	10825	10720	44.79
Mochna 67	3972	8357	8570	40.84
Raghdi 83	4288	9914	9744	39.71

Source  Bangladesh Population Census 2001, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Historical events On 24 February 1952 a mourning procession and public meeting were held in Muksudpur upazila in protest of police firing on the student and general public on 21 February 1952 demanding Bangla as the State Language. In 1966 police fired on the anti Ayub procession in which school student Mahananda was killed. On 22 April 1971 two Pakistan fighter planes fired on Baniarchar in which five local residents were killed and a motor launch was capsized. On 9 August the freedom fighters and the local people jointly launched an attack on Muksudpur Police Station in which 84 members of police and razakars were killed. On 12 October an encounter was held between the freedom fighters and the Pak soldiers and razakars in which 22 Pak soldiers and razakars were killed. Besides, between 12 and 15 December, 30 Pak soldiers and 10 razakars were killed in encounters with the freedom fighters near the Dignagar Bridge; in these encounters three freedom fighters were also killed.

Marks of the War of Liberation Mass grave 2 (Dignagar and village Bagati).

Religious institutions Mosque 400, temple 180, church 15.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 47.1%; male 51.4%, female 42.6%. Educational institutions: college 4, secondary school 43, primary school 200, kindergarten 8, madrasa 18. Noted educational institutions: Muksudpur Degree College (1972), Bangaratna Degree College, Kalinagar High School (1907), Batikamari High School (1921), Saber Mian Jasimuddin Model High School (1928), SJ High School (1935), JKMB Mallick High School (1938), Pilot High School (1939), Khandarpar Union Induhati Haladar High School (1945), Bahugram PC High School (1966), Batikamari Government Primary School (1919), Bangram Islamia Dakhil Madrasa (1925), Dignagar Fazil Madrasa.

Newspapers and periodicals Muksudpur Sangbad (fortnightly).

Cultural organisations Library 3, club 69, cinema hall 2, theatre group 4, cultural' organisation 7, women's organisation 8.

Main sources of income Agriculture 63%, non-agricultural labourer 2.14%, industry 0.53%, commerce 13.05%, transport and communication 1.21%, service 8.90%, construction 2.40%, religious service 0.22%, rent and remittance 0.70% and others 7.85%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 68.27%, landless 31.73%; agricultural landowner: urban 56.71% and rural 69.06%.'

Main crops Paddy, jute, mustard, pulse, sugarcane, wheat, betel leaf, onion, sweet potato, vegetables.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Kaun, china, linseed, sesame, motor, gram.

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, banana, papaya, coconut, palm, guava, lemon, litchi.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 6, dairy 45, poultry 97, shrimp gher 20 (enclosures for shrimp cultivation), hatchery 2, nursery 11.

Communication facilities Pucca road 132 km, mud road 510 km.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin.

Noted manufactories Jute mill, flour mill, saw mill, rice mill, oil mill, cotton mill, ice factory, welding factory.

Cottage industries Goldsmith 66, blacksmith 248, potteries 102, embroidery 825, bamboo work 275, wood work 907.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 38, fairs 7, most noted of which are Tengrakhola Hat, Khandarpar Hat, Bangram Hat, Takerhat (Uttarpar), Batikamari Hat, Gohalar Hat, Tengrakhola Mela and Kamlapur Mela.

Main exports Jute, onion, palm molasses, wheat, sweet potato.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 14.61% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Natural resources Pit coal has been discovered in the Chandar Beel area of the upazila.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 94.89%, tap 0.26%, pond 1.72% and others 3.13%. The presence of arsenic has been detected in 80% shallow tube-well water of the upazila.

Sanitation 37.77% (rural 36.29% and urban 59.52%) of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 53.50% (rural 54.83% and urban 34.09%) of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 8.73% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, family planning centre 13, satellite clinic 6, clinic 1.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, proshika, caritas, asa, World Vision. [Paritosh Haldar]

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