Ramgati Upazila

Ramgati Upazila (lakshmipur district) area 291.82 sq km, located in between 22°52' and 22°90' north latitudes and in between 90°47' and 91°01' east longitudes. It is bounded by kamalnagar on the north, hatiya upazila and meghna river on the south, subarnachar upazila on the east, tazumuddin and daulatkhan upazilas and Meghna river on the west.

Population Total 229153; male 117715, female 111438; Muslim 217267, Hindu 11864 and others 22.

Water bodies Main rivers: Meghna.

Administration Ramgati Thana was formed in 1862 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
-	7	24	70	61883	138667	578	38.7	20.31

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
71.64	2	61883	864	37.93

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Char Abdullah 15	9950	7486	6387	20.84
Char Algi 31	7371	15686	15366	38.06
Char Alexandar 23	15512	31640	29394	35.29
Char Poragacha	5424	6729	6644	24.16
Char Gazi 55	12743	19252	17772	22.50
Char Bedam 39	8663	10838	10700	25.75
Char Ramiz 87	8440	17732	17315	38.72
Bara Kheri 07	4603	8352	7860	41.01

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2001, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage Bedar Boksh Mosque, Rani Bhabani Kamada Math.

History of the War of Liberation During the war of liberation in 1971 a battle was fought between the freedom fighters and the Pak army at the turn of the Zamindar Hat in which 17 Pak soldiers including a number of razakars were killed.

Religious institutions Mosque 105, temple 10, math 1. Noted religious institutions: Ramgati Central Jami Mosque, Char Poragachha Mosque, Bedarbox Mosque, Ashrama of Bura Karta, Rani Bhabani Kamda Math.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 29.5%; male 31.9%, female 27.0%. Educational institutions: college 4, secondary school 27, primary school 145, madrasa 46. Noted educational institutions: Alexandar Govt. College (1970), Ramgati Ahamadia College (1983), Abdul Hadi College, Town Alexandar Mohila College, ASM Abdur Rob Govt. College, Ramgati BBK Pilot Ideal High School (1933), Char Sita Torab Ali High School (1947), Ramgati Acchiya Pilot Girls School (1968), Alexandar Pilot Girls School (1972), Balu Char Islamia Senior (Alim) Madrasa (1933), Char Alexandar Alia Madrasa (1938).

Newspapers and periodicals Periodical: Ramgati Darpan, Swadesh Bhumi.

Cultural organisations Library 4, club 12, theater group 3, cinema hall 3, women's organisation 23.

Main sources of income Agriculture 66.56%, non-agricultural labourer 4.00%, industry 0.53%,' commerce 11.25%, transport and communication 1.53%, service 4.58%, construction 0.81%, religious service 0.31%, rent and remittance 0.31% and others 10.12%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 48.81%, landless 51.19%; agricultural landowner: urban 40.10% and rural 50.41%.'

Main crops Paddy, wheat, chilli, onion, ground nut, soybean.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Kaun, barley, jute.

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, guava, coconut, betel nut.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 58, Dairy 9, poultry 40.

Communication facilities Pucca road 70.79 km, semi-pucca road 23 km, mud road 290 km.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin and bullock cart.

Noted manufactories Rice mill, flour mill, saw mill, ice-crime factory, bidi factory.

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

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 50, fairs 2, most noted of which are Alexandar Hat, Ramgati Hat, Karunanagar Hat, Zamindar Hat, Bibir Hat, Karaitala Hat, Sennir Hat and Bura Kartar Mela at Alexadar.

Main exports Hilsa fish, shrimp, paddy, ground nut, soybean, chilli.

Access to electricity All the unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 6.08% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 75.84%, pond 13.92%, tap 0.83% and others 9.41%.

Sanitation 21.72% (rural 19.57% and urban 33.47%) of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 63.24% (rural 64.74% and urban 55.05%) of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 15.04% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, satellite clinic 2, family planning centre 9, clinic 2.

Natural disaster More than one lakh people' and several lakhs livestock were victims of the devastating tornado and tidal bore of 11 November 1970; it also caused heavy damages to property of the upazila.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, proshika, asa, CODEC, Social Association for Rural Advancedment. [Md Zahir Uddin Babar]

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