Bagerhat Sadar Upazila

Bagerhat Sadar Upazila (bagerhat district) area 272.73 sq km, located in between 22°35' and 22°50' north latitudes and in between 89°38' and 89°53' east longitudes. It is bounded by fakirhat and chitalmari upazilas on the north, rampal and morrelganj upazilas on the south, kachua (bagerhat) upazila on the east, Fakirhat and Rampal upazilas on the west.

Population Total 266389; male 133699, female 132699; Muslim 219207, Hindu 46547, Buddhist 4, Christian 561 and others 70.

Water bodies bhairab, chitra, Daudkhali and Taleswar rivers are notable.

Administration Bagerhat Thana was formed in 1842 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
1	10	164	189	49073	217316	977	75.8	60.8

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
7.53	9	31	49073	6517	75.8

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Kara Para 69	6389	17449	16678	65.5
Khanpur 77	5279	8294	8316	56.0
Gota Para 51	7564	11563	11592	59.2
Dema 35	10926	7790	7987	60.5
Barai Para 17	8290	12961	12649	57.5
Bishnupur 34	7752	10812	10781	60.7
Bemarta 25	9528	12201	12394	61.8
Jatrapur 60	6529	9468	9431	60.5
Rakhalgachhi 86	4739	6734	6694	63.0
Shat Gambuj 94	8950	11817	11705	60.6

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics khan jahan’s tomb Complex, 'shatgumbad mosque, nine-domed mosque, Ayoddha Mosque, Chillakhan Mosque, Sona Mosque, Anar Khan Mosque, Daria Khan Mosque, Katani Mosque, Pancha Dighi, Ekhtiar Khan Dighi, Burakha Dighi.

Historical events In the first half of fifteenth century khan jahan ali established Khalifabad pargana covering Bagerhat, Khulna, Jessore, Satkhira and Barisal. Bagerhat was the central administrative place of the pargana. He built a takshal (mint) and several mosques and excavated many dighis (large water tanks).

War of Liberation During the war of liberation razakars slaughtered 18 members of a family. Freedom fihhters had encounters with the Pak army at Panighat, Devir Bazar and Madhav Kathi. Bagerhat was liberated on 17 December. There is a mass grave at Bandhapara and a mass killing site at Dakbanglo Ghat; a memorial monument was built in the upazila.

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

Religious institutions Mosque 452, temple 13. Noted religious institutions: Shatgumbad Mosque, Court Mosque, Railway Mosque, Sarui Jami Mosque, Rajeshwar Temple, Muniganj Kali Temple, Barui Radhesham Temple.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 63.6%; male 65.0%, female 62.1%. Educational institutions: college 13, secondary school 44, technical school 2, institute 4, primary school 160, madrasa 19. Noted educational institutions: Homeopath College, Government Mahila College, Khan Jahan Ali College, Physical Education College, Rangdia School and College (1902), Blind and Deaf Institute, Textile Institute, Medical Assistant Training School, Midwife Training Institute and Nursing School, Prafulla Chandra Roy College (1918), Bagerhat Multilateral Pilot Secondary School (1878), Barai Para Purnachandra Secondary School (1914), Madhudia Icchamoyi Secondary School (1915), Chirulia Secondary School (1917), Khan Jahania Secondary School (1923), Sugandhi Secondary School (1930), Bagerhat Fazil Madrasa, Khanpur Islamia Alim Madrasa.

Newspapers and periodicals Daily: Dainik Dakhin Kantha, Dut, Uttayal, Dakshin Bangla, weekly: Khan Jahan, Bagerhat Darpan, Bagerhat Barta.

Cultural organisations Library 10, club 25, women organisation 1, museum 1, theatre group 2, theatre stage 1, open stage 1, cinema hall 2, playground 1.

Main sources of income Agriculture 42.01%, non-agricultural labourer 7.41%, industry 1.27%, commerce 21.31%, transport and communication 4.55%, service 10.61%, construction 1.78%, religious service 0.26%, rent and remittance 0.54% and others 10.26%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 56.38%, landless 43.62%; agricultural landowner: urban 52.08% and rural 57.29%.

Main crops Paddy, wheat, jute, sugarcane, potato, betel leaf, pulse, vegetables.'

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Mustard seed, tobacco.

Main fruits Safeda, mango, jackfruit, banana, papaya, custard-apple, jamrul, blackberry, coconut, betel nut.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Shrimp cultivation (Chingri gher): 10461 (Galda and Bagda), dairy 42, poultry 320, hatchery 10.

Communication facilities Pucca road 212 km, semi-pucca road 87 km, mud road 159 km; waterway 187 km.

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

Noted manufactories Rice mill, flour mill, oil mill, fish feed mill, ice factory, chanachur (fried chick-pea) factory, bidi factory.

Cottage industries Goldsmith, blacksmith, potteries, wood work, bamboo work, honey cultivation project.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 31, fairs 5, most noted of which are Jatrapur Hat,' Barakpur Hat, Babur Hat, Katakhali Hat and Panighater Mela, Jatrapur Rath Mela, Koramar Kasundi Mela and Krishi (agriculture) Mela.

Main exports Coconut, betel nut, shrimp.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 40.8% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 59.9%, tap 6.4% and others 33.7%.

Sanitation 78.7% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 19.5% of dwelling houses use non-sanitary latrines; 1.8% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Hospital 1, satellite clinic 2, union health and family planning centre 10, child and maternity clinic 1, midwife training institute 1, nursing school 1, private clinic 81.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are CARE, brac, proshika, asa. [HM Khaled Kamal]

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