Atgharia Upazila

Atgharia Upazila (pabna district) area 186.15 sq km, located in between 24°03' and 24°12' north latitudes and in between 89°10' and 89°25' east longitudes. It is bounded by chatmohar and faridpur upazilas on the north, pabna sadar and ishwardi upazilas on the south, santhia upazila on the east and baraigram upazila of natore district on the west.

Population Total 157254; male 78237, female 79017; Muslim 154136, Hindu 2886, Buddhist 4, Christian 125 and others 103.

Water bodies Main rivers: ichamati, Chiknai, Kamala; Jalka, Takigari and Garuliar beels are notable.

Administration Atgharia thana was formed on 13 January 1915 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	5	102	122	13686	143568	845	56.7	42.4

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
8.60	9	18	13686	1591	56.7

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Ekdanta 47	8387	18201	17838	40.8
Chandba 15	7602	12744	13501	51.0
Debottar 31	7578	10812	10899	39.8
Majhpara 79	10091	17409	17692	44.4
Lakshmipur 63	9994	12295	12177	34.5

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Khanbari Mosque (Atgharia), Mridhar Mosque (Atgharia), Beruan Jami Mosque (Beruan).

War of Liberation Freedom fighters had an encounter with the Pak army at the Bangshipara Ghat of Majhpara Union in which 12 freedom fighters, 3 villagers and one Pak army officer were killed. There is a mass grave near the bamboo-clump of Dr. Magrib at Debottar South Para.

For details: see আটঘরিয়া উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ১।

Religious institutions Mosque 161, temple 17, church 1. Noted religious institutions:' Beruan Mosque, Atgharia Mosque, Debottar Mosque, Sreekantapur Mosque, Ekdanta Mosque, Radhakantapur Mosque.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 43.7%; male 43.7%, female 43.6%. Noted educational institutions: Khidirpur Degree College (1995), Debottar Degree College (1995), Atgharia Degree College (1972), Khidirpur Technical and Business Management College (2003), Atgharia Pilot High School (1954), Debottar Pilot High School (1966), Debottar Model Government Primary School (1880), Taha Islamia Dakhil Madrasa (1923), Daleshwar Islamia Dakhil Madrasa (1922).

Newspapers and periodicals Weekly Pragati; Sahitya Patrika (defunct).

Cultural organizations Library 16, club 50, literary society 1, opera party 1, theatre group 1, cinema hall 1.

Main sources of income Agriculture 73.76%, non-agricultural labourer 2.25%, commerce 8.33%, transport and communication 2.09%, industry 0.92%, service 3.96%, construction 0.53%, religious service 0.08%, rent and remittance 0.26% and others 4.83%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 61.18%, landless 38.82%; agricultural landowner: urban 44.57% and rural 62.27%.

Main crops Paddy, jute, betel leaf, mustard seed, brinjal, potato, green chilli, onion, garlic, vegetables.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Burley, China, kaun, bhura.

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, banana, papaya, litchi, guava.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 125, dairy 170, poultry 230, hatchery 3.

Communication facilities Pucca road 118 km, semi-pucca road 7 km, mud road 379 km; waterway 35 km; railway 7 km.

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

Cottage industries Weaving, bamboo work, cane work, wood work, cocoon production industry.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 18, fairs 2; most noted of which are Atgharia, Debottar, Khidirpur and Garuri Hat.

Main exports Paddy, jute, betel leaf, vegetables.

Access to electricity All the unions of the upazila are under electricity net-work. However 47.8% dwellings have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 94.5%, tap 1.0% and others 4.5%.

Sanitation 79.8% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 17.4% of dwelling houses use non-sanitary latrines; 2.8% of households do not have latrine facilities.

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

Natural Disasters Many people of the upazila died as victims of great the famine of 1770 (Bangla 1176).

NGOs brac, ccdb, asa, Nijpath, Banchte Chai, Asset. [Md Alauddin Molla]

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