Madarganj Upazila

Madarganj Upazila (jamalpur district) area 225.39 sq km, located in between 24°47' and 24°59' north latitudes and in between 89°40' and 89°50' east longitudes. It is bounded by islampur and melandaha upazilas on the north, sarishabari and sariakandi upazilas on the south, Melandaha and jamalpur sadar upazilas on the east, Sariakandi upazila on the west.

Population Total 263608; male 130339, female 133269; Muslim 259090, Hindu 4481, Buddhist 3, Christian 8 and others 26.

Water bodies Main rivers: jamuna, Jhinai, Chatal; Chiradhuna Beel and Kharka Beel are notable.

Administration Madarganj Thana was formed in 1906 and it was turned into an upazila on 24 March 1983.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
1	7	104	119	33169	230439	1170	39.1	32.1

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
10.78	9	22	33169	3077	39.1

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Adarbhita 11	7170	19546	19823	36.0
Karaichara 71	7538	17335	18342	31.9
Gunaritala 47	7505	18431	19083	34.3
Char Pakerdaha 35	8182	18435	18918	31.3
Jorekhali 59	10516	16572	16129	28.2
Balijuri 23	7493	12326	12234	25.6
Sidhuli 83	4625	11506	11759	35.8

Source  Bangladesh Population Census 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Talukdar Bari Jami Mosque, Sree Sree Lakshminarayan Mandir, Tartapara Neel Kuthi (nearly extinct).

War of Liberation Freedom fighters had encounters with Pak army at two paces of the upazila – Poyla village and Baushi Bridge. 32 Pakistani soldiers were killed in the encounter at Poyla but the freedom fighters had to retreat after failing to defeat the enemies in the encounter near the Baushi Bridge. Mass graves had been discovered at 7 places (Koalikandhi, Tegharia Bazar, Jonail, Chargolabari, Charbhatia, Kolur Patta, Charboula) of the upazila.

For details: see মাদারগঞ্জ উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ৭।

Religious institutions Mosque 287, temple 7.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 33.0%; male 35.8%, female 30.4%. Educational institutions: college 6, technical college 3, secondary school 2, primary school 160, ngo school 2, madrasa 34. Noted educational institutions: Madarganj AHZ Government College (1968), Nurunahar Mirza Kashem Mahila Degree College (1994), Jhar Kata Multilateral High School (1907),' Balijuri FM High School (1910), Shamganj High School (1947), Balijuri Rowshan Ara Government Girls' High School (1964), Jonail Nayapara Fatema Khan Mamud Girls' High School (1965).

Newspapers and periodicals Daily: Pallibani (irregular); literary periodical: Vela, Usha, Unmesh; defunct: Monthly' Madarganj, Monthly Dristipat, Palli Kagoz.

Cultural organisations Library 1, club 32, cinema hall 1, women's organisation 1, playground 26.

Main sources of income Agriculture 71.64%, non-agricultural labourer 2.13%, industry 0.40%, commerce 11.40%, transport and communication 1.48%, service 3.98%, construction 1.02%, religious service 0.19%, rent and remittance 0.39% and others 7.37%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 63.09%, landless 36.91%; agricultural landowner: urban 47.24% and rural 65.41%.'

Main crops Paddy, jute, wheat, maize, mustard, sugarcane, sweet potato, masur, gram, cabbage, cauliflower, sunflower, black gram, barley, turmeric, ginger, betel leaf, vegetables.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Sesame, linseed, ground-nut, kaun.

Main fruits Mango, coconut, jackfruit, banana, watermelon, futi.

Communication facilities Pucca road 145 km, mud road 339 km; waterway 35 km.

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

Noted manufactories Rice mill, oil mill, chanachur factory, bakery, ice cream factory, printing press.

Cottage industries Goldsmith, blacksmith, potteries, weaving, bamboo work.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 22, fairs 8, most noted of which are Balijuri Hat, Shamganj Kalibari Hat, Jonail Hat, Mahisbathan Bazar, Tegharia Bazar, Bajitpara Bazar, Patadaha Bazar, Binodtongi Bazar, Balijuri Durga Puja Mela, Tegharia Eid Mela and Mahisbathan Eid Mela.

Main exports Paddy, jute, mustard, gram, black gram, sweet potato, vegetables.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 23.2% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 98.3%, tap 0.1% and others 1.6%.

Sanitation 47.6% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 46.7% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 5.7% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, family planning centre 4, family welfare centre 7, satellite clinic 5, community clinic 32.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, asa, CARE. [Sayed Md Abdullah Al Mamun Chowdhury]

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