Ramganj Upazila

Ramganj Upazila (lakshmipur district) area 169.31 sq km, located in between 23°01' and 23°10' north latitudes and in between 90°48' and 90°58' east longitudes. It is bounded by faridganj, hajiganj and shahrasti upazilas on the north, lakshmipur sadar and raipur upazilas on the south, chatkhil upazila on the east, Faridganj and Raipur upazilas on the west.

Population Total 285686; male 130568, female 155118; Muslim 275537, Hindu 10131, Christian 9, Buddhist 8 and others 1.

Water bodies Main river: Freeder.

Administration Ramganj Thana was formed in 1891 and it was turned into an upazila on 24 March 1983.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
1	10	119	134	44775	240911	1687	63.1	64.4

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
26.16	9	18	44775	1712	63.1

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Ichhapur 38	3661	10127	12598	58.9
Karpara 47	3798	10214	12808	68.3
Kanchanpur 42	3444	11042	13038	60.8
Chandipur 23	4698	13322	15911	59.2
Darbeshpur 33	3227	8994	11101	65.7
Noagaon 66	3554	10953	13403	67.7
Bhatra 14	4218	11859	14182	66.2
Bhadur 13	2468	8781	10173	55.7
Bholakot 19	4198	13487	15800	66.9
Lamchar 57	4033	10284	12834	73.6

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2001, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage Shyampur Dayra Sharif, Kachua Dargah, Harishchar Dargah, Kanchanpur Dargah, Pancha-Ratna Math at Lakshmidhar Para, Sreerampur Rajbari.

Historical events There had been a grave communal riot at Ramganj in October 1946. The riot continued for a number of days and a few thousand men and women were victims of the riot. Mahatma Gandhi came from Delhi to Ramganj in a peace mission to ease the situation and visited the affected villages during 7 November 1946 to 2 March 1947.

War of Liberation During the war of liberation in 1971 the Pak army conducted mass killing, looting and burning of houses in the upazila. Freedom fighters had an encounter with the Pak army at Fatehpur Dighir Par in which many Pakistani soldiers were killed. The Pakistan army later captured 14 freedom fighters and killed them in their Ramganj camp. In 1971 the Pak army and the razakars established their camps at Ramganj Godown area, Ramganj High School and Dakbangalow. There are 2 mass killing sites (at places near the Ramganj M U High School and Hajirhat Kalakopa Madrasa) and 2 mass graves (on the bank of a pond on the north of Madhupur High School and at a place by the side of the embankment road on the west side of the upazila headquarters).

For details: see রামগঞ্জ উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ৯।

Religious institutions Mosque 432, temple 43, tomb 2, dargah 4, ashrama 2, harisabha 8, math 9.Noted religious institutions: Sonapur Bara Mosque, Ramganj Registry Office Mosque, Ramganj Dakbangalow Mosque, Kanchanpur Dargah Mosque, Fathepur Bara Mosque, Sonapur Kali Mandir, Chandipur Mansha Kali Mandir.'

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 64.2%; male 62.7%, female 65.4%. Educational institutions: college 4, secondary school 32, primary school 163, community school 12, kindergarten 9, madrasa 37. Noted educational institutions: Ramganj Government Degree College (1967), Dalta College (1993), Ramganj Model College (1994), Bhatra High School (1906), Daspara High School (1921), Chandipur Mansha High School (1924), Dalta' Rahamania High School (1925), Kanchanpur High School (1933), Bhadur High School, Panpara High School, Nagmud Madrasa (1856), Kethuri Senior Madrasa.

Newspapers and periodicals Weekly: Ramganj Barta (1991), monthly: Renaissance, Jagaran (2000), Agrojo.

Cultural organisations Library 17, club 22, auditorium 1, theater group 2, cinema hall 1, women's organisation 40, playground 12.

Special attraction Shah Miran Dargah Sharif, Lakshmidhar Para Dighi and Pancha-Ratna, Ramgajn Ansar Battalion and Sreerampur Rajbari.

Main sources of income Agriculture 31.62%, non-agricultural labourer 2.54%, industry 0.10%, commerce 19.14%, transport and communication 3.94%, service 15.74%, construction 2.39%, religious service 0.45%, rent and remittance 13.25% and others 10.83%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 61.10%, landless 38.90%; agricultural landowner: urban 52.77% and rural 62.55%.

Main crops Paddy, wheat, jute, potato, pulse.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Kaun, sesame, linseed, mustard.

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, orange, coconut, betel nut, banana.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Dairy 98, poultry 170, hatchery 2, nursery 18.

Communication facilities Pucca road 374 km, semi-pucca road 50 km, mud road 586 km; waterway 112 km; Embankment 16 km.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin and bullock cart.

Noted manufactories Rice mill, flour mill, ice mill, saw mill, biscuit factory, battery factory, furniture factory, printing press, brick field.

Cottage industries Goldsmith, blacksmith, weaving, bamboo work, cane work, brass work, ghani (oil mill), shitalpait, nakshi kantha.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 50, fairs 3, most noted of which are Sonapur Hat, Paniala Hat, Bhatra Hat, Balua Chowmuhoni Hat, Chowdhury Bazar, Berir Bazar, Kethuri Bazar, Mansha Mandir Mela and Shyampur Dayra Sharif Mela.

Main exports Coconut, betel nut, orange, shitalpati, house hold items made of iron.

Access to electricity All the unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 64.4% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Natural resources Natural gas.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 93.4%, tap 2.4% and others 4.2%. The water of about 90% of the tube well of this region contain arsenic at the rate of 179 mg.

Sanitation 89.7% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 8.0% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 2.3% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Health complex 1, Upazila health and family planning centre 10, satellite clinic 50, clinic 6.

Natural disasters The devastating flood of 1998 caused heavy damages to settlements, livestock and crops of the upazila.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, asa, RIDO, SOPIRET, Seba. [Mohammad Nur Hossain]

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