Kuliarchar Upazila

Kuliarchar Upazila (kishoreganj district) area 104.01 sq km, located in between 24°06' and 24°13' north latitudes and in between 90°49' and 90°58' east longitudes. It is bounded by bajitpur upazila on the north, belabo and bhairab upazilas on the south, Bhairab and Bajitpur upazilas on the east, katiadi and Belabo upazilas on the west.

Population Total 156592; male 79412, female 77180; Muslim 143538, Hindu 12998 and others 56.

Water bodies Main rivers: old brahmaputra, meghna, arial khan.

Administration Kuliarchar Thana was formed in 1921 and it was turned into an upazila in 1984.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
1	6	46	97	28162	128430	1505	49.8	51.6

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
11.08	9	37	28162	2542	45.9

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Osmanpur 59	2501	6234	6087	28.56
Gobaria Abdullahpur 35	5106	15042	14498	47.48
Chhaysuti 11	5350	14178	14021	40.12
Faridpur 23	1777	5313	5072	41.09
Ramdi 71	4889	12789	12376	37.75
Salua 83	3736	11297	11523	39.73

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2001, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Homestead of Maharaja Trailokyanath Chakravarty (Kapashatia), Gosair akhra (Ramdi), Dashpara Kali Bari (Kuliarchar).

History of the War of Liberation During the war of liberation an encounter was held on 14 August 1971 between the freedom fighters and the Pak army in which four Pakistan soldiers and 28 razakars surrendered to the freedom fighters along with their arms and ammunitions.

Religious institutions Mosque 170, temple 10, math 4, tomb 3, akhra 2. Noted religious institutions: Kuliarchar Bazar Jami Mosque.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 41.3%; male 45.1%, female 37.4%. Noted educational institutions: Kuliarchar Degree College (1973), Lakshmipur Technical and BM College (2002), Agarpur GC High School (1907), Bir Kashim Nagar FU High School (1937), Faridpur Union Abdul Hamid High School (1937), Chhaysuti Union High School (1950), Kuliarchar Pilot High School (1976), Musa Mia High School (1983), Lakshmipur Bilateral High School (1947), Gobaria EU Fazil Madrasa.

Newspapers and periodicals Bhatir Darpan (monthly).

Cultural organisations Library 3, club 45, cinema hall 2.

Main sources of income Agriculture 52.95%, non-agricultural labourer 2.69%, industry 1.18%, commerce 17.44%, transport and communication 3.42%, service 6.26%, construction 1.26%, religious service 0.18%, rent and remittance 1.85% and others 12.77%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 58.16%, landless 41.84%; agricultural landowner: urban 35.68% and rural 62.54%.'

Main crops Paddy, wheat, nut, mustard, potato, vegetable, arum.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Masur, mung, jute.

Main fruits Mango, banana, litchi, jackfruit.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 473, dairy 31, poultry 385.

Communication facilities Pucca road 52.16 km, mud road 181.69 km; railway 8 km.

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

Noted manufactories Cold storage, chess production mill, ice mill, oil mill, shoe making factory,' candle making factory, rose water factory, incense factory.

Cottage industries Bamboo work, goldsmith, potteries, cotton work, weaving, blacksmith.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 5, fairs 2, most noted of which are Kuliarchar Bazar and Austami Mela at Dumarkandha Bazar.

Main exports Fish, banana, litchi, vegetables.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 18.26% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 92.29%, tap 0.37%, pond 0.23% and others 7.11%.

Sanitation 44.97% (rural 41.27% and urban 63.96%) of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 28.16% (rural 29.77% and urban 19.90%) of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 26.87% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, family planning centre 5, rural health centre 4, veterinary hospital 1, community clinic 16.

Natural disasters The earthquake of 1918 caused heavy damages to settlements and other properties of the upazila. Besides, many people were victims of famine of 1943.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, proshika, asa. [Md. Abul Kashem Bhuiyan]

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