Kalihati Upazila

Kalihati Upazila (tangail district) area 295.60 sq km, located in between 24°17' and 24°26' north latitudes and in between 89°45' and 90°11' east longitudes. It is bounded by bhuapur and ghatail upazilas on the north, tangail sadar and basail upazilas on the south, sakhipur upazila on the east, jamuna river, sirajganj sadar and belkuchi upazilas on the west.

Population Total 410293; male 202688, female 207605; Muslim 378730, Hindu 31537, Buddhist 2, Christian 17 and others 7.

Water bodies jamuna, Lohajang, Old Dhaleshwari, bangshi; Charan, Kumar, Dhali and Talla beels are notable.

Administration Kalihati Thana was formed in 1928 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	14	248	298	39496	370797	1388	42.7 (2001)	41.9

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
14.52 (2001)	9	17	37038	2073 (2001)	53.4

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
0.95 (2001)	1	2458	2526 (2001)	35.1

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Elenga 36	5310	19262	20186	47.8
Kok Dahara 58	5126	14060	14710	37.8
Durgapur 29	3960	9201	9372	36.7
Nagbari 65	6211	15123	16171	39.6
Narandia 73	6267	15158	16046	46.2
Paikara 80	4797	13771	15081	39.2
Parki 83	6422	9076	10088	44.5
Balla 12	3448	23332	19667	41.1
Bangra 14	4996	14364	14508	46.8
Bir Basunda 21	3947	8814	9823	36.7
Salla 87	3484	9736	10180	38.2
Sahadebpur 94	4742	13138	13898	41.4
Gohaliabari 43	8975	12004	11815	40.2
Dashkia 25	2808	7419	7681	46.2

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2001 and 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Ashrafia Jami Mosque (Fultala), Kadim Hamjani Jami Mosque (Salla),' Pachh Charan Jami Mosque, Elenga Zamindar Bari.

War of Liberation A battle was fought between the freedom fighters and the Pak army on 19 April 1971 in which about 350 Pakistani soldiers including a Major was killed and so were 11 freedom fighters. On 10 December the Indian allied forces launched attack on the Pak army in which 370 Pak soldiers were killed and more than one hundred were wounded; the allied forces also captured about 600 Pak soldiers.

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

Religious institutions Kalihati Central Jami Mosque, Balla Jami Mosque, tomb of Shah Ekin, Kalihati Central Joykali Mandir and north Betdoba Baro Kali Mandir are notable.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 42.9%; male 46.1%, female 39.8%. Educational institutions: college 8, technical educational institution 3, secondary school 52, primary school 170, madrasa 19. Noted educational institutions: Allauddin Siddiqui College (1971), Shamsul Haque College (1972), Kalihati College (1979), Lutfur Rahman Matin Mahila College (2000), Kalihati RS Pilot High School (1915), Gopaldighi KP High School (1917), Balla Coronation High School (1911), Kok Dahara High School (1889), Rajafair High School (1908), Barga Sarisha Ata High School (1902), Sattia Government Primary School (1926), Chatipara Primary School (1916), Gohaliabari Fazil Madrasa (1922).

Newspapers and periodicals Daily: Bangshai, weekly: Samal, Intekhab, Ganabiplab, fortnightly: Ahmmadi (defunct).

Cultural organisations Library 4, club 189, theatre group 5, cinema hall 10, women society 22, playground 34, music academy 3, cultural organisation 6.

Important installations and tourist spots bangabandhu jamuna multipurpose bridge, Jamuna Resort.

Main sources of income Agriculture 46.75%, non-agricultural labourer 3.73%, industry 2.21%, commerce 15.53%, transport and communication 3.53%, service 6.20%, construction 1.24%, religious service 0.20%, rent and remittance 2.90% and others 17.71%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 56.69%, landless 43.31%; agricultural landowner: urban 45.11% and rural 57.80%.

Main crops Paddy, wheat, mustard, potato, onion, ginger, garlic, pulse, vegetables.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Sesame, linseed, kusum, mug.

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, blackberry, litchi, banana, papaya, water-melon.

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

Communication facilities Pucca road 165 km, Semi-pucca road 2 km, mud road 504 km; railway 15 km, waterway 7 km.

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

Noted manufactories Rice mill, flour mill, ice factory.

Cottage industries There are about 50000 hand looms in this upazila. Cotton sari produced in Balla is very famous. Other cottage industries include goldsmith, blacksmith, wood work, tailoring, bamboo and cane work, bidi factory, etc.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 26, fairs 11; most noted of which are Balla Hat, Bhandeshwar Hat, Hamidpur Hat, Kasturi Para Hat, Elenga Hat, Saya Hat, Ichhapur Hat, Baghutia Hat, Paujan Hat, Bijaya Dasami Mela at Kalihati, Baruni Mela at Fultala and Bangra and Chaitra Samkranti Mela at Sahadebpur.

Main exports Banana, onion, garlic, potato, papaya, ginger, jackfruit.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 64.8% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 97.8%, tap 0.4% and others 1.8%.

Sanitation 68.7% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 26.0% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 5.3% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, health and family planning centre 11, non-government health and charitable hospital 2, maternity and child welfare centre 10, clinic 52.

Natural disasters Many people of the upazila were victims of the famine of 1943. About 523 persons lost their life and about 30 thousand were wounded as victim to the tornado of 1996; it also completely disarrayed 67 villages of the upazila.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, asa, CARE, proshika, Swanirvar Bangladesh, PKS, Pally Samaj Unnayan Parishad. [Shymal Chandra Nath]

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