Basail Upazila

Basail Upazila (tangail district) area 157.77 sq km, located in between 24°07' and 22°19' north latitudes and in between 89°58' and 90°07' east longitudes. It is bounded by kalihati upazila on the north, mirzapur and delduar upazilas on the south, sakhipur upazila on the east, Delduar and tangail sadar upazilas on the west.

Population Total 159870; male 75226, female 84644; Muslim 143135, Hindu 16727, Christian 4 and others 4.

Water bodies Main rivers: bangshi, Lohajang, Langli; Chapra, Dubail, Kaoaljani, Banikishori and Balia beels are notable.

Administration Basail Thana was formed in 1913 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
-	6	72	107	13496	146374	1013	54.3	50.1

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
11.30	1	13496	1194	54.3

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Kaoaljani 83	5340	9946	11608	49.9
Kanchanpur 59	7395	11331	12912	47.3
Kashil 71	6058	12188	13573	50.4
Fulki 35	6850	13878	15914	48.0
Basail 11	6456	12862	13844	48.6
Habla 47	6509	15021	16793	57.0

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

War of Liberation During the war of liberation in 1971 an encounter was held between the freedom fighters and the Pak army at Kamutia on both banks of the river Jhenai. In this encounter a number of Pak soldiers and freedom fighters were killed. Freedom fighters had encounters with Pak army also at places like Basail police Station, Patharghata and Bathuli. There is a memorial monument at Kamutia on the bank of Jhenai river.

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

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 50.4%; male 53.7%, female 47.6%. Educational institutions: college 3, secondary school 24, primary school 54, kindergarten 12, community school 11, madrasa 19. Noted educational institutions: Basail Emdad Hamida Degree College (1985), Kaoaljani College, Kaoaljani Naosheria High School (1926), Icera High School, Basail Gobinda Govt. High School (1945), KBN Multilateral High School (1968), Kanchanpur Elahia Fazil Madrasa (1941).'

Cultural organisations Club 40, library 1, cinema hall 2, playground 30.

Main sources of income Agriculture 56.83%, non-agricultural labourer 2.71%, industry 1.35%, commerce 11.45%, transport and communication 1.54%, service 8.21%, construction 0.80%, religious service 0.13%, rent and remittance 6.99% and others 10.29%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 64.92%, landless 35.08%; agricultural landowner: urban 46.43% and rural 66.55%.

Main crops Paddy, jute, mustard seed, sugarcane, potato, wheat, vegetables.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Varieties of pulses, sweet potato.

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

Fisheries, dairies and poultries This upazila has a number of fisheries, dairies and poultries.'

Communication facilities Pucca road 71.7 km, Semi-pucca road 0.77 km, mud road 329.18 km; railway 5 km.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Horse carriage, bullock cart, dhuli.

Manufactories Bakery, ice factory, rice mill, soap factory, welding factory.

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

Noted hats, bazars and fairs' Basail Hat, Sunna Hat, Moytha Hat, Kaoaljani Hat, Icera Hat, Saidampur Bazar, Fulki Bazar, Khatra Shanti Bazar, Faila Paglar Mela and Nabbas Paglar Mela.

Main exports Jute, sugarcane molasses, potato.

Access to electricity All the unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 70.3% dwellings have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 98.6%, tap 0.2% and others 1.2%.

Sanitation 86.4% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 11.3% of dwelling houses use non-sanitary latrines; 2.3% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, family welfare centre 6, satellite clinic 2.

Natural Disasters The cyclone of 1996 caused heavy damages to settlements, livestock, plantations and other properties of the upazila.

NGO activities proshika, brac, SIDO. [Nurur Rahman Salim]

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