Porsha Upazila

Porsha Upazila (naogaon district) area 252.83 sq km, located in between 24°54' and 25°05' north latitudes and in between 88°24' and 88°39' east longitudes. It is bounded by sapahar upazila on the north, gomastapur and niamatpur upazilas on the south, patnitala and mahadebpur upazilas on the east, west bengal state of India on the west.

Population Total 132095; male 66299, female 65796; Muslim 114068, Hindu 13711, Buddhist 4, Christian 1801 and others 2511. Indigenous communities such as santal, oraon and Pahan belong to this upazila.

Water bodies Main rivers: punarbhaba, Shiba.

Administration Porsha Thana was formed in 1933 and it was turned into an upazila in 1984.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
-	6	155	246	12418	119677	522	46.5	42.1

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
4.90	4	12418	2534	46.5

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Ganguria 23	10189	7868	8002	46.4
Ghatnagar 31	12524	10649	10518	42.3
Chhaor 15	10644	9195	9392	39.2
Tentulia 87	10504	11610	10824	49.4
Nithpur 55	14433	16816	16917	37.2
Masidpur 47	8903	10161	10143	43.7

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Shahi Mosque, Bala Shaheed Mazar (Nithpur), Berachoki Pond (Tentulia).

War of Liberation During the war of liberation in 1971 the Pak army, in collaboration with the local razakars, conducted mass killing at different places such as the Baro Idara (large well) of Nitpur, the Baliachanda bridge, Shisha Bazar and Ganguria College. Freedom fighters had encounters with Pak army at Sharaigacghi and Shisha Bazar of the upazila. Mass graves have been discovered at 4 places.

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

Religious institutions Mosque 268, temple 41, church 1.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 42.5%; male 43.2%, female 41.9%. Educational institutions: college 2, primary school 111, madrasa 2. Noted educational institutions: Porsha Degree College (1969), Ganguria Technical and Agricultural Degree College (1987), Porsha High School (1927), Nithpur High School (1936), Porsha High Madrasa Cum High School (1927), Palashbari Chachaibari Fazil Madrasa (1964).

Cultural organisations Library 20, club 89, cinema hall 1.

Main sources of income Agriculture 81.44%, non-agricultural labourer 3.16%, industry 0.22%, commerce 5.43%, transport and communication 0.93%, service 3.34%, construction 0.25%, religious service 0.13%, rent and remittance 0.03% and others 5.06%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 50.20%, landless 49.80%; agricultural landowner: urban 41.14% and rural 50.95%.

Main crops Paddy, wheat, mustard.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Local varieties of paddy.

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, litchi, water melon.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 2, dairy 1, poultry 11.

Communication facilities Pucca road 87 km, semi-pucca road 14 km, mud road 311 km.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin, horse carriage.

Noted manufactories Rice mill 11, ice factory 3, flour mill 2, welding factory 16.

Cottage industries Goldsmith 27, blacksmith 112, potteries 243, embroidery 210, bamboo work 215, wood work 256.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 12, fairs 2, most noted of which are Ganguria Hat, Masidpur Hat, Shisha Hat and Korbola Mela.

Main exports Paddy, wheat, bamboo work.

Access to electricity All the unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 27.4% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 57.0%, tap 5.9% and others 37.1%.

Sanitation 24.3% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 27.3% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 48.4% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, health and family welfare centre 3, satellite clinic 2, clinic 5.

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

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