Pirgachha Upazila

Pirgachha Upazila (rangpur district) area 266.84 sq km, located in between 25°33' and 25°45' north latitudes and in between 89°18' and 89°32' east longitudes. It is bounded by kaunia and rajarhat upazilas on the north, sundarganj upazila on the south, ulipur and Sundarganj upazilas on the east, rangpur sadar and mithapukur upazilas on the west.

Population Total 313319; male 153524, female 159795; Muslim 285871, Hindu 27150, Buddhist 25, Christian 26 and others 247.

Water bodies Main rivers: tista, Ghaghat; Chaluniyer and Horodanga Beels are notable.

Administration At the time of the establishment of' Rangpur district Pirgachha was included in the Mohiganj Thana. Later on in 1913 Nawabganj Thana was formed after abolishing Mohiganj Thana and Pirgachha Thana was formed, as a new thana, comprising parts of the abolished Mohiganj Thana. Pirgachha' thana was turned into an upazila on 1 February 1984.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
-	9	170	170	13037	300282	1174	55.2	44.1

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
8.47	1	13037	1539	55.2

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Annadanagar 17	6658	14961	15886	47.7
Itakumari 28	5547	12893	13364	45.0
Kalyani 47	5061	13198	13180	49.1
Kandi 57	6225	13384	14423	45.1
Kaikuri 38	7330	16711	18035	43.2
Chhaola 19	9348	20435	21092	36.4
Tambulpur 85	9537	20187	21304	40.9
Parul 66	8044	19603	19824	40.7
Pirgachha 76	8189	22152	22687	54.7

Source  Bangladesh Population Census 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Manthana Zamidar Bari, Zamindar Bari and Shiva Mandir at Itakumari, Secret Fort at Chandipur, Tri-vigraha Mandir at Manthana, Bhabtarini Ma Kali Mandir, Shiva Mandir at Pirgachha, Chhota Taraf Durga Mandir at Pirgachha.

Historical events Once Pirgachha (Manthana) was a zamindari of Fatehpur Pargana under the kingdom of Kuchbihar. Ananta Ram, an employee of Koch origin surrendered to the Mughals when the latter invaded this region during 1704 to 1714 and was rewarded by the award of zamindari (landownership with the right to collect rents from tenants cultivating the land under possession) which lasted until 1950. fakir-sannyasi resistance was held in this region during the period from 1760 to 1800.

War of Liberation On 13 April 1971 the Pak army brutally killed 11 members of the Bangali EPR at Nandiganj. The local people buried them at a place by the side of the Rangpur Kurigram road. An encounter was held between the freedom fighters and Pak army on 2 December at Monurchhara under Parul union in which one freedom fighter was killed and two Pakistani soldiers were wounded. There is a mass killing site on the side of the Rangpur-Kurigram road.

For details: see পীরগাছা উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ৬।

Religious institutions Mosque 452, temple 13, church 1, tomb 7, sacred place 5. Noted religious institutions: Karbala Eidgah Maidan, Pirgachha Ahle Hadith Mosque, Satdargah Mosque, Shiva Mandir at Itakumari, Tri Bigraha Mandir at Manthana, Bhabtarini Ma Kali Mandir, Shiva Mandir at Pirgachha, Chandi and Radha Mandir, Choto Taraf Durga Mandir at Pirgachha.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 44.6%; male 48.1%, female 41.3%. Educational institutions: college 9, distant learning centre 1, HSC program centre 1 (open university), secondary school 51, primary school 277, vocational school 3, madrasa 38. Noted educational institutions: Pirgachha College (1970), Pirgachha JN High School (1928), Annadanagar Multilateral High School (1950), Itakumari Bilateral High School (1921), Pabitro Jhar Government Primary School (1932), Annadanagar Government Primary School (1942), Nachumamud Government Primary School (1972), Pabitro Jhar Karamatia Fazil Madrasa (1950).

Cultural organisations Library 1, club 29, theatre group 1, women organisation 3, cinema hall 3, playground 23.

Main sources of income Agriculture 70.06%, non-agricultural labourer 3.72%, industry 0.33%, commerce 9.85%, transport and communication 3.35%, service 3.79%, construction 0.8%, religious service 0.2%, rent and remittance 0.23% and others 7.67%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 51.99%, landless 48.01%; agricultural landowner: urban 44.63% and rural 52.59%.'

Main crops Paddy, wheat, potato, sugarcane, mustard, nut, jute, betel leaf, vegetables.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Kaun, linseed, maize, arahar.

Main fruits Banana, jackfruit, mango, pineapple, litchi, guava, papaya, betel nut.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 39.

Communication facilities Pucca road 107 km, semi-pucca road 12 km, mud road 636 km; railway 21 km. Rail Station 3 (Annadasangkar, Pirgachha, Chowdhurani).

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin, bullock cart, buffalo cart.

Noted manufactories Chira and muri mill 3, cotton mill 2, cold storage 5, brick field 3.

Cottage industries Blacksmith, potteries, bamboo work.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 21, fairs 7, most noted of which are Pirgachha Hat, Paotana Hat, Annadanagar Hat, Sat Dargah Hat, Kaliganj Hat, Bara Dargah Hat, Parul Hat, Nek-Mamud Hat, Tambulpur Hat, Kaikuri Hat, Kandi Hat, Nayar Hat, Nabdiganj Hat, Deoti Hat, Sayedpur Hat, Itakumari Hat, Thanbar Mela, Pagla Kura Mela, Chandipur Mela, Baruni Mela at Kandi, Bura Ghazir Mela, Chaitra Samkranti Mela and Mahram Mela.

Main exports Jute, betel leaf, betel nut, banana, potato, nut, mustard, sugarcane, vegetables.

Access to electricity All the unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 28.6% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 96.3%, tap 0.3% and others 3.4%. The presence of arsenic has been detected in the water of 70 shallow tube wells out of 798. The level of arsenic is 25% in the tube well water of Annadanagar, Chhaola, Itakumari, Kandi, Tambulpur and Pirgachha unions.

Sanitation 47.2% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 39.8% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 13.0% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, satellite clinic 4, family planning centre 9, charitable clinic 4.

Natural disasters The devastating earthquake of 1897 and the repeated floods in the region changed the course of the rivers, including the Tista of the region.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, asa, RDRS, thengamara mahila sabuj sangha. [Ahmad Hussain Chand]

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