Damudya Upazila

Damudya Upazila (shariatpur district) area 91.76 sq km, located in between 23°06' and 23°10' north latitudes and in between 90°20' and 90°30' east longitudes. It is bounded by bhedarganj upazila on the north, gosairhat upazila on the south, Gosairhat upazila on the east, kalkini and shariatpur sadar upazilas on the west. Damudya is the main river port and commercial centre of the Shariatpur district.

Population Total 116643; male 57716, female 58927; Muslim 113303, Hindu 3325 and others 15.

Water bodies Main rivers: padma and Jayanti.

Administration Damudya Thana was formed in 1975 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	7	60	121	18958	97685	1269	60.6	39.5

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
7.09	9	11	15066	2125	58.89

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
1.19	1	3892	3271	67.28

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Islampur 40	2261	4039	4102	38.09
Kaneshwar 47	4659	8226	8940	39.50
Darul Aman 23	1247	5111	5669	54.32
Dhankati 35	5870	10507	10718	31.36
Purba Damudya 59	4267	10782	10632	32.60
Sidya 83	1227	3889	4395	57.08
Sidulkura 71	3474	7522	7045	47.19

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2001, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

History of the War of Liberation In 1971 the freedom fighters of Damudya mainly conducted guerilla type of war against the Pak army. Both the Mukti Bahini and the Mujib Bahini played distinctive role during the War. A frontal encounter between the freedom fighters and the Pak army was held on the southern side of the present Damudya College in which freedom fighters Ahsanul Hoque and Abdul Wahab were killed. Huge damages to properties were caused when the local razakars set the Damudya Bazar on fire on 15 October 1971.

Marks of the War of Liberation Memorial monument 5.

Religious institutions Mosque 176, temple 5, tomb 4.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 43.1%; male 46.2%, female 40.1%. Educational Institutions: college 1, primary training institute 1, secondary school 14, primary school 59, community school 2, kindergarten 5, madrasa 111. Noted educational institutions: Damudya College, Kaneshwar SC Institutions (1913), Damudya Muslim Pilot High School (1940), Damudya Model Government Primary School (1992), Alhaj Imamuddin High School.

Cultural organisations Library 4, club 10, community centre 1, music academy 1, cinema hall 1, auditorium 1, women's organisation 1, playground 2.

Main sources of income Agriculture 54.40%, non-agricultural labourer 3.01%, industry' 1%, commerce 16.02%, transport and communication 2.41%, service 8.68%, construction 1.93%, religious service 0.31%, rent and remittance 3.79% and others 8.45%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 64.59%, landless 35.41%; agricultural landowner: urban 38.12% and rural 69.79%.

Main crops Paddy, jute, masur pulse, mustard, wheat.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Sugarcane.

Main fruits Mango, Jackfruit, plum.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 21, dairy 8 and poultry 25.

Communication facilities Pucca road 56.92 km, semi-pucca road 22.56 km, mud road 220.08 km; waterway 1.70 nautical miles.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin.

Noted manufactories Rice mill, ice cream factory.

Cottage industries Goldsmith, blacksmith, potteries, embroidery.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 7, fairs 4, most noted of which are Damudya Bazar, Kailara Bazar.

Main exports Jute, paddy, potteries.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 16.28% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 90.84%, pond 5.48%, tap 0.18% and others 3.50%. The presence of intolerable level of arsenic has been detected in shallow tube-well water of the upazila.

Sanitation 55.44% (rural 48.63% and urban 90.10%) of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 39.19% (rural 45.76% and urban 5.75%) of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 5.37% of' households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, union health and family welfare centre 6, community clinic 2, veterinary hospital 1.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, heed. [AKM Matiur Rahman]

References Bangladesh Population Census 2001, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics; Cultural Survey report of Damudya upazila 2010.