Kuliarchar Upazila

Kuliarchar Upazila (kishoreganj district) area 104.01 sq km, located in between 24°06' and 24°13' north latitudes and in between 90°49' and 90°58' east longitudes. It is bounded by bajitpur upazila on the north, belabo and bhairab upazilas on the south, Bhairab and Bajitpur upazilas on the east, katiadi and Belabo upazilas on the west.

Population Total 182236; male 87955, female 94281; Muslim 169684, Hindu 12428, Buddhist 4, Christian 6 and others 114.

Water bodies Main rivers: old brahmaputra, meghna, arial khan.

Administration Kuliarchar Thana was formed in 1921 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
1	6	34	97	31781	150455	1752	43.5	44.9

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
11.08	9	37	31781	2868	43.5

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Osmanpur 59	2501	6979	7368	37.3
Gobaria Abdullahpur 35	5106	16516	17927	56.3
Chhaysuti 11	5350	15415	16885	39.8
Faridpur 23	1777	5909	6659	42.3
Ramdi 71	4889	14444	14956	44.7
Salua 83	3736	13041	14356	41.9

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Homestead of Maharaja Trailokyanath Chakravarty (Kapashatia), Gosair akhra (Ramdi), Dashpara Kali Bari (Kuliarchar).

War of Liberation During the war of liberation on 14 August 1971 an encounter was held between the freedom fighters and the Pak army in which four Pakistan soldiers were killed and 28 Razakars surrendered to the freedom fighters along with their arms and ammunitions. Freedom fighters of the upazila had encountrers with Pakistani soldiers at places like Madhya-Salua, Vangarhat, Fakirpar.

For details: see কুলিয়ারচর উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ২।

Religious institutions Mosque 170, temple 10, math 4, tomb 3, akhra 2. Noted religious institutions: Kuliarchar Bazar Jami Mosque.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 44.6%; male 45.6%, female 43.8%. Noted educational institutions: Kuliarchar Degree College (1973), Lakshmipur Technical and BM College (2002), Agarpur GC High School (1907), Bir Kashim Nagar FU High School (1937), Faridpur Union Abdul Hamid High School (1937), Chhaysuti Union High School (1950), Kuliarchar Pilot High School (1976), Musa Mia High School (1983), Lakshmipur Bilateral High School (1947), Gobaria EU Fazil Madrasa.

Newspapers and periodicals Bhatir Darpan (monthly).

Cultural organisations Library 3, club 45, cinema hall 2.

Main sources of income Agriculture 52.95%, non-agricultural labourer 2.69%, industry 1.18%, commerce 17.44%, transport and communication 3.42%, service 6.26%, construction 1.26%, religious service 0.18%, rent and remittance 1.85% and others 12.77%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 58.16%, landless 41.84%; agricultural landowner: urban 35.68% and rural 62.54%.'

Main crops Paddy, wheat, nut, mustard, potato, vegetable, arum.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Masur, mung, jute.

Main fruits Mango, banana, litchi, jackfruit.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 473, dairy 31, poultry 385.

Communication facilities Pucca road 150 km, semi-pucca road 180 km, mud road 200 km; railway 11 km.

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

Noted manufactories Cold storage, chess production mill, ice mill, oil mill, shoe making factory,' candle making factory, rose water factory, incense factory.

Cottage industries Bamboo work, goldsmith, potteries, cotton work, weaving, blacksmith.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 5, fairs 2, most noted of which are Kuliarchar Bazar and Austami Mela at Dumarkandha Bazar.

Main exports Fish, banana, litchi, vegetables.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 42.5% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 94.2%, tap 0.5% and others 5.3%.

Sanitation 46.6% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 46.6% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 14.6% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, family planning centre 5, rural health centre 4, veterinary hospital 1, community clinic 16.

Natural disasters The earthquake of 1918 caused heavy damages to settlements and other properties of the upazila. Besides, many people were victims of famine of 1943.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, proshika, asa. [Md. Abul Kashem Bhuiyan]

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