Dharmapasha Upazila

Dharmapasha Upazila (sunamganj district) area of 310 sq km, located in between 24°47' and 25°12' north latitudes and in between 90°56' and 91°11' east longitudes. It is bounded by Meghalaya State (India) on the north, mohanganj and barhatta upazilas on the south, tahirpur and jamalganj upazilas on the east, kalmakanda and Barhatta upazilas on the west.

Population Total 130457; male 65479, female 64978; Muslim 118188, Hindu 12245, Christian 18 and others 6.

Water bodies Main rivers: surma and kangsa; tanguar haor, Sialdigha Beel, Pakertala Beel, Firagang Beel, Dhoroni Beel, Joldhara beel, Dhankuniya Beel, Sardha Beel are notable.

Administration Dharmapasha Thana was formed in 1942 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
-	6	84	175	7858	122599	421	49.6	54.9

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)
11.75 (2001)	1	7858	837 (2001)	49.6

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Uttar Sukhair Rajapur 85	17792	8886	8535	29.4
Joysree 47	14085	10362	10163	27.1
Dakshin Sukhair Rajapur 21	12108	4889	4674	18.8
Dharmapasha 38	8896	15062	15058	32.8
Paikurati 66	15321	14498	14600	28.5
Selborash 76	8402	11782	11948	34.5

Source  Bangladesh Population Census 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Sukhair Zamindar Bari and Kali Mandir, Rajapur Zamindar Bari, Selborash Jami Mosque, Zamindar bari, Moheshkhola Kali Mandir.

War of Liberation Three groups of freedom fighters attacked Dharmapasha police station and forced the enemies to leave the area. The upazila was freed on 8 December 1971.

For details: see ধর্মপাশা উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ৫।

Religious institutions Mosque 192, temple 17, Church 3, sacred place 1.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 28.5%; male 29.5%, female 27.5%. Noted educational institutions: Badshaganj Degree College (1994), Madhyanagar BP High School (1952), Badshaganj Pablic High School (1950), Janata High School (1931).

Newspapers and periodicals Literay periodicals: Sanko, Praner Hisab (Defunct).

Cultural organisations Club 300, library 2,' cinema hall 1, women's organisation 100, playground 15.

Tourist spots Tanguar Haor and Tekerhat Limestone Hill.

Main sources of income Agriculture 79.10%,' non-agricultural labourer 4.25%, industry 0.28%, commerce 7.36%, transport and communication 0.77%, service 2.07%, construction 0.29%, religious service 0.18%, rent and remittance 0.14% and others 5.56%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 58.13%, landless 41.87%; agricultural landowner: urban 47.19% and rural 58.75%.

Main crops Paddy, potato, onion, garlic, mustard seed, vegetables.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Sesame, sweet potato, gram, kaun, Khesari.

Main fruits Mango, blackberry, jackfruit, litchi, banana, papaya, custard-apple, watermelon.

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

Communication facilities Roads: pucca 65 km, semi-pucca 30 km, mud road 500 km; waterway 95 km.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin, bullock cart.

Noted manufactories Flour mill, saw mill, ice factory, welding factory.

Cottage industries Bamboo and wood work, tailoring.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 14, fairs 10, most noted of which are Dharmapasha, Madhyanagar, Badshaganj, Gachtala, Saidpur, Chamardani, Bangshikunda, Moheshkhola, Golgaon, Sukhair, Natun Bazar, Golakpur, Joysree Bazar;' Kali Puja Mela at Moheshkhola and Kahala villages, Shiva Mela at Ramdigha and Galaikhali.

Main exports Onion, garlic, banana, potato, paddy,' dried fish, mustard seed, wood, vegetables.

Access to electricity All the unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 13.5% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 91.1%, tap 0.1% and others 8.8%. The presence of intolerable level of arsenic has been detected in the shallow tube well water of the upazila.

Sanitation 21.2% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 66.3% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 12.5% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health centre 1, rural health centre 2, union health centre and family welfare centre 5.

Natural disasters The devastating earth quake of 1897 caused huge loss of life and heavy damages to properties of the upazila. In 1967 about 50 persons died of small pox in one night at village Bishara. Besides, the floods of 1974 and 1988 and the tsunami of 2004 caused heavy damages to settlements, livestock and crops of the upazila.

NGO activities asa, brac, proshika, Shova. [Nixon Talukdar]

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