Companiganj Upazila (Noakhali District)

Companiganj Upazila (noakhali district) area 305.33 sq km, located in between 22°37' and 22°54' north latitudes and in between 91°10' and 91°31' east longitudes. It is bounded by senbagh and daganbhuiyan upazilas on the north, subarnachar and sandwip upazilas on the south, sonagazi and mirsharai upazilas on the east, Noakhali Sadar and kabirhat upazilas on the west.

Population Total 214652; male 107300, female 107352; Muslim 200721, Hindu 13916 and others 15.

Water bodies little feni river and Sandwip channel are notable.

Administration Companiganj Thana was formed in 1888 and it was turned into an upazila on 2 July 1983.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
1 (Basurhat)	8	35	44	21096	193556	703	61.54	48.27

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
6.16	9	11	21096	3425	61.54

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Char Elahi 10	17465	11708	10612	25.28
Char Kakra 35	5342	17128	18262	51.82
Char Parbati 47	4022	13087	13753	51.17
Char Fakira 11	8166	11326	11122	49.62
Char Hazari 23	3809	11017	11049	48.45
Musapur 59	14813	10027	9715	43.59
Rampur 71	4670	8987	9126	58.83
Sirajpur 83	3560	13044	13593	54.02

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2001, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Statue of Kali (eighteenth century), Eidagazi Mosque at Char Hazari (Mughal period).

History of the War of Liberation On 4 September 1971, an encounter was held between the freedom fighters and the Pak army on the Banchharam road at a place near the sluice gate of the upazila in which 6 freedom fighters were killed. Besides, during the war of liberation a number of encounters were held between the freedom fighters and the Pak army in Companiganj upazila in which seven freedom fighters including Sadar BLF Commander Ohidur Rahman Wadud were killed.

Marks of the War of Liberation Mass grave 1 (16 No Sluice Gate of Companiganj upazila).

Religious institutions Mosque 242, temple 10. Noted religious institutions: Budi Mosque at Basurhat and Jagannath Bari Mandir (Char Hazari).

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 49.64%; male 51.87%, female 47.47%. Noted educational institutions: Basurhat AHC Government High School (1911), Bamni High School (1914), Basurhat Islamia Senior Madrasa (1923), Bamni Achhria Senior Madrasa (1915).

Newspapers and periodicals Irregular: Weekly Noakhali Kantha and Weekly Ajker Jogajog.

Cultural organisations Club 22, library 6, cinema hall 1, playground 26.

Main sources of income Agriculture 37.81%, non-agricultural labourer 3.16%, industry 0.79%, commerce 13.86%, transport and communication 4.03%, service 21.81%, construction 1.09%, religious service 0.36%, rent and remittance 7.59% and others 9.50%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 57.24%, landless 42.76%; agricultural landowner: urban 60.65% and rural 56.87%.

Main crops Paddy, wheat, potato, sugarcane, pumpkin, vegetables.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Jute, peanut, sesame, linseed, mustard, pulse.

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, banana, papaya, coconut, plum, blackberry, betel nut.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 16, dairy 167, poultry 139, hatchery 1.

Communication facilities Roads: pucca 30 km, semi-pucca 9.5 km, mud road 352 km.

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

Noted manufactories Flour mill, oil mill, ice factory, welding factory, bidi factory.

Cottage industries goldsmith, blacksmith, weaving, Arts and Crafts, bamboo work, cane work, wood work.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 18, most noted of which are Basurhat, Tal Muhammad Hat, Abu Majir Hat, Taleb Muhammad Hat, Chowdhury Bazar, Bangla Bazar, Natun Bazar; Naldia Mela on1 Magh is notable.

Main exports Paddy, coconut, banana, pumpkin, betel nut, vegetables.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 32.93% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 77.75%, tap 5.09%, pond 11.34% and others 5.83%. The presence of tolerable level of arsenic has been detected in the shallow tube-well water of the upazila.

Sanitation 49.78% (rural 46.18% and urban 83.32%) of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 35.45% (rural 38.10% and urban 10.76%) of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 14.77% of households do not have latrine facilities.'

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, family planning centre 7, satellite clinic 1, clinic 20, Bangladesh Diabetic Association 1.

Natural Disasters The tidal bore on 31 October 1876 and 12 November 1970 caused huge loss of life and damages to settlements, livestock and crops.

NGO activities brac, asa, proshika, LRDA. [Nuruddin Jaglul]

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