Jhalokati Sadar Upazila

Jhalokati Sadar Upazila (jhalokati district) area 159.45 sq km, located in between 21°35' and 22°47' north latitudes and in between 90°06' and 90°17' east longitudes. It is bounded by banaripara, wazirpur and babuganj upazilas on the north, rajapur upazila on the south, barisal sadar and nalchity upazilas on the east, kawkhali (pirojpur R), Nesarabad and Banaripara upazilas on the west.

Population Total 216348; male 105468, female 110880; Muslim 182170, Hindu 34123, Buddhist 22, Christian 14 and others 19.

Water bodies Main rivers: Gazalia, bishkhali.

Administration Jhalokati Thana was formed in 1913 and it was turned into an upazila in 1984. Municipality was formed in 1875.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
1	10	158	190	54904	161444	1357	72.7 (2001)	65.9

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
16.07 (2001)	9	47	54029	2827 (2001)	77.9

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
2.27 (2001)	1	875	456 (2001)	48.9

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Kirtipasha 66	4816	8029	8786	67.0
Keora 57	2507	5592	6157	70.2
Gabkhan Dhansiri 28	3705	7050	7711	66.1
Gabha Ramchandrapur 38	3737	9118	9888	64.6
Nabagram 76	3233	8603	9003	62.6
Nathullabad 63	3985	6469	7151	70.4
Ponabalia 85	1494	7888	8472	57.9
Basanda 17	2099	7343	7759	61.9
Binoykati 19	4174	9934	10964	67.9
Sekherhat 95	3211	7914	8488	70.9

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2001 and 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Remnants of the Ghoshal Rajbari, Nurullahpur Math, Shiva Mandir at Hazragati, tomb of Angir Shah at Shekherhat, old Municipal building,

War of Liberation The Pak army entered Jhalokati Sadar on 27 April 1971 and started indiscriminate killing, plundering, raping at different places; they also set many houses on fire. On 5 May encounters were held between the Sarbahara Party of Siraj Sikder and the Pak army at Madra, Vhimrul and Peara Bagan in which 21 Pak soldiers including razakars were killed. The Pak army killed 23 pious Muslims on 23 May at Ramanathpur Sharif Bari while they were on prayer. On 13 November, 18 Pak soldiers including 2nd Lt. Ajmat were killed in an encounter with the freedom fighters at Chachoir and Premdaha. The Pak army was forced to leave Jhalokati on 8 December. Mass killing sites have been discovered at four places (on bank of the river Sugandha and at Palbari Ghat, Godown Ghat and Khejura Khalpar) in the upazila, a memorial sculpture has been built at City Park.

For details: see ঝালকাঠি সদর উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ৪।

Religious institutions Mosque 470, temple 127, tomb 1.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 68.8%; male 69.9%, female 67.8%. Noted educational institutions: Jhalokati Government College (1964), Jhalokati Government Mahila College, Sher-E-Bangla A K Fazlul Haque College, Jhalokati Government High School (1872), Kirtipasha Prosanna Kumar Secondary School (1903), Baukati Bindu Bashini Secondary School (1918), Jhalokati Government Girls' school (1919), Nathullabad Secondary School (1923), Taruli Secondary School (1957), Poura Adarsha Government Primary School (1902), Baharampur Government Primary School (1905), Sarengal Nesaria Honainia Fazil Madrasa (1974).

Newspapers and periodicals Daily: Shatakantha (defunct); defunct periodicals: Satabarsha Shoronika (1975), Mohona (1976), Chader Hasi (1978), Kalantar (1978), Onnesa (1978), Banglar Barta (1983), Biplobi Bangla (1983), Pari (1986), Suryaloka (1992), Ajker Shabdakosh (1995), Namta (1996), Arkh (1996), Protiva (1996), Agraha (1996), Sreshti (1996), Shanko (1997), Kamini (1998), Weekly Robbarer Chithi (1972).

Cultural organisations Library 15, club 19, cinema hall 1, theatre group 4, playground 24.

Main sources of income Agriculture 38.84%, non-agricultural labourer 6.30%, industry 0.98%, commerce 18.40%, transport and communication 3.34%, service 16.88%, construction 2.75%, religious service 0.29%, rent and remittance 1.64% and others 10.58%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 63.10%, landless 36.90%; agricultural landowner: urban 38.20% and rural 70.10%.

Main crops Paddy, pulse, vegetables.

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

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

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 11, dairy 17, poultry 13, hatchery 1.

Communication facilities Pucca road 75 km, semi-pucca road 152 km, mud road 715 km; waterway 21 km.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin.

Noted manufactories Salt factory, flour mill, ice factory, saw mill, rice mill, biscuit factory, bidi factory.

Cottage industries Goldsmith, weaving, embroidery, potteries, wood work, tailoring.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 21, fairs 7, most noted of which are Baukati Hat, Jhalokati Hat, Gabkhan Hat.

Main exports Paddy, salt.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 56.5% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 97.5%, tap 1.2% and others 1.3%. The presence of intolerable level of arsenic has been detected in shallow tube-well water of the upazila.

Sanitation 89.9% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 8.9% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 1.2% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Hospital 2, satellite clinic 3, family planning centre 11.

Natural disasters The floods of 1786, 1988 and the cyclones and tidal bores of 1822, 1909, 1960 and 1970 caused huge loss of life of people; it also caused heavy damages to settlements, livestock and crops of the upazila. Besides, many people were also victims of the famine of 1943.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, proshika, asa, caritas. [Md Mizanur Rahman]

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