Agailjhara Upazila

Agailjhara Upazila (barisal district) area 155.47 sq km, located in between 22°54' and 23°03' north latitudes and in between 90°03' and 90°13' east longitudes. It is bounded by gaurnadi upazila on the north east, wazirpur upazila on the south, kotalipara upazila on the west.

Population Total 149456; male 72421; female 77035; Muslim 82720, Hindu 63175, Buddhist 6, Christian 3553 and others 2.

Water bodies Bisarkandi, Gaur and Nanda rivers and Doparparer beel are notable.

Administration Agailjhara Thana was formed on 16 June 1981 and it was turned into an upazila on 7 November 1983.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
-	5	78	96	10857	138599	961	72.0	62.2

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
7.40	4	10857	1467	72.0

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Gaila 47	6298	15580	16743	65.4
Bakal 15	7956	12667	13054	62.9
Bagdha 13	8713	14627	15679	59.6
Ratnapur 87	6514	14188	15093	62.8
Rajiher 79	8937	15359	16466	63.6

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2001,Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Manasa Mandir at Fulushree (Sultanate period, built by Poet Bijoy Gupta), ancient fort at Gaila, Dharadhar Dighi (known as Behular Dighi) and Chhabikharpar Dighi.

War of Liberation During the War of Liberation 8 persons including Laskhan Das (proprietor of Laskhan Das Circus) of village Kodaldhoa were killed by the Pak army. There had been a number of encounters of the freedom fighters of the upazila with the Pak army and prominent among them were the ones at Poysarhat and Amboula. There is a mass killing site at Katira and a mass grave at Ranta.

For details: see আগৈলঝাড়া উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ১।

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 62.9%; male 65.4%, female 60.6%. Noted educational institutions: Shaheed Abdur Rab Serniabat Degree College (1972), Agailjhara College, Kabindra College (Sanskrit College), Bhegai Haldar Public Academy (1919), Gaila High School (1893), Bagdha High School (1922), Bahadurpur High School (1924), Agailjhara High School, Paisar Hat High School, Seral High School, Jobarpar Christian Missionary School, Ghorar Par Christian Missionary School, Purba Sujonkathi Government Primary School.

Cultural organizations Library 4, club 35, cinema hall 1.

Main sources of income Agriculture 60.8%, non-agricultural labourer 1.96%, commerce 15.4%, transport and communication 2.0%, service 8.5%, construction 4.1% and others 7.24%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 82.11%, landless 17.89%; agricultural landowner:' urban 1.91% and rural 82.88%.'

Main crops Paddy, wheat, potato, jute, banana, betel leaf, mustard, pulse.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops China, kaun, linseed, arahar.

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, banana, litchi, blackberry, water melon, papaya.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries This upazilla has a number of fisheries, dairies and poultries.

Communication facilities Roads: pucca 213 km, semi-pucca 42 km, mud road 334 km; waterway 182 km.

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

Noted manufactories Flour mill, rice mill, saw mill, oil mill, ice factory.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 21, fairs 2, most noted of which are Shaheber Hat, Paisar Hat, Ashkar Kalibari Hat, Bakal Hat, Gaila Bazar and Kodaldhoa Baruni Mela.

Main exports Betel leaf, jute, paper made of water-hyacinth.

Access to electricity All the unions of the upazilla are under rural electricity net-work. However 49.5% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 88.0%, tap 0.3% and others 11.7%.

Sanitatiom 85.2% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 12.2% of dwelling houses use non-sanitary latrines; 2.6% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Hospital 4, union health and family planning centre 7, family welfare centre 5, satellite clinic 6.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are CARE, brac, caritas, asa, proshika. [Apurba Lal Haldar]

References Bangladesh Population Census 2001 and 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics; Cultural survey report of Agailjhara Upazila 2007.