Hajiganj Upazila

Hajiganj Upazila (chandpur district) area 189.90 sq km, located in between 23°12' and 23°20' north latitudes and in between 90°45' and 90°55' east longitudes. It is bounded by kachua and matlab dakshin upazilas on the north, faridganj and ramganj upazilas on the south, shahrasti upazila on the east, chandpur sadar, Matlab Dakshin and Chandpur Sadar upazilas on the west.

Population Total 330477; male 156944, female 173533; Muslim 309177, Hindu 21278, Buddhist 1, Christian 16 and others 5.

Water bodies Main rivers: dakatia,' Kachua; noted canals are Khodai, Boaljuri, Sonapur, Shoilkhali.

Administration Hajiganj Thana was formed in 1868 and it was turned into an upazila on 15 April 1983.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
1	11	122	149	69434	261043	1740	53.72 (2001)	59.0

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
16.09 (2001)	12	18	63892	2660 (2001)	66.2

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
3.94 (2001)	2	5542	1950 (2001)	68.4

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Uttar Kalocho 50	3642	12752	12087	55.9
Dakshin Kalocho 55	4011	13422	16020	58.7
Uttar Gandharabpur 25	4193	9761	11388	53.2
Dakshin Gandharbapur 30	3734	8774	10528	63.7
Paschim Barkul 20	2286	7888	9051	58.5
Purba Barkul 18	3890	12597	13713	60.8
Uttar Rajargaon 70	4542	13314	16139	61.4
Bakila75	3762	12230	13776	61.7
Hajiganj 35	5608	17417	19260	58.8
Pachim Hatila 60	2191	6994	7805	60.7
Hatila Purba 65	4065	10060	11609	58.3

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

Archaeological heritage and relics Firozpur Mosque (1343 AD), one doomed mosque at village Suhilpur, an old bridge on the Shailkhali Canal (sixteenth century), five doomed mosque at Alipur (1692), Hajiganj Bara Mosque, Math at Bakila, homestead of Hari Shaha at Balakhali, altar engraved with Bishnu statue at Alipur, Akhra of Laxmi Narayan Jeu, Dariya Hayat (pond), Dighi at Sreepur, Mazar of Ali Ekabbar Shah (R), Alamgiri Mosque at Alipur.

War of Liberation On 12 May 1971 the Pak army killed 50 innocent persons at village Kashimpur. On 23 October the Pak army also killed about 50 persons at Laukara. They set many houses on fire. The freedom fighters conducted a counter attack in which 17 Pak soldiers were killed and so were two freedom fighters. A tomb was built on the graves of the martyred freedom fighters and also, there is a memorial monument in the upazila.

For details: see হাজীগঞ্জ উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ১০।

Religious institutions Mosque 498, temple 56, church 1, sacred place 1, Noted religious institutions: Hajiganj Bara Mosque, Mada Khan Mosque (Aliganj).

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 60.6%; male 59.4%, female 61.7%. Educational institutions: college 12, Primary Teachers Training Institute (PTI), 1, secondary school 26, primary school 135, community school 20, madrasa 43. Noted educational institutions: Hajiganj Degree College (1969), Hajiganj Model Pilot High School and College (1916), Hajiganj Model College (1986), Balakhal Jogendra Narayan High School (1930), Bakila High School (1930), Hajiganj Pilot Girls' High School (1972), Bakila Fazil Madrasa (1905).

Newspapers and periodicals Weekly: Hajiganj (1994), Manab Samaj 2002).

Cultural organisations Library 1, cinema hall 2, theatre 1, women's organisation 2, club 10, playground 23.

Main sources of income Agriculture 37.94%, non-agricultural labourer 4.26%, industry 0.69%, commerce 17.74%, transport and communication 2.90%, service 14.98%, construction 2.97%, religious service 0.51%, rent and remittance 6.77% and others 11.24%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 61.21%, landless 38.79%; agricultural landowner: urban 43.60% and rural 64.43%.

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

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Sweet potato, sesame, linseed, mustard, nut, kaun,' pulse, china.

Main fruits Jackfruit, coconut, mango.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 64, dairy 2, poultry 71, hatchery 5.

Communication facilities Pucca road 118 km, mud road 469 km; waterway 13 km; railway 13 km. Railway station 2.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin, bullock cart, donga (small boat made of palm tree).

Noted manufactories Jute mill 1, rice mill 104, saw mill 27, bakery 21, bidi factory 2, press 6, brick field 5, welding factory 15.

Cottage industries Goldsmith 95, potteries 65, wood work 201, bamboo work 105, embroidery 250.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 28, fairs 4; Hajiganj, Rampur, Rajargaon, Ramchandrapur, Chengatali and Bakila bazaars and Aliganj, Barkul, Belghar-Rajapur, Balakhal fairs are notable.

Main exports Jute, Jute made products.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 61.7% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 88.9%, tap 6.1% and others 5.0%. The presence of intolerable level of arsenic has been detected in 99% shallow tube-well water of the upazila.

Sanitation 57.7% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 39.6% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 2.7% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, satellite health centre 3, family and health welfare centre 10, clinic 4, diagnostic centre 15.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, asa, proshika. [Md. Tofael Ahmed Sheikh]

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