Phulgazi Upazila

Phulgazi Upazila (feni district) area 102.19 sq km, located in between 23°02' and 24°10' north latitudes and in between 91°23' and 91°31' east longitudes. It is bounded by parshuram upazila on the north, feni sadar and chhagalnaiya upazilas on the south, tripura state of India on the east and west.

Population Total 119558; male 59497, female 60061; Muslim 110356, Hindu 9197, Christian 4 and others 1.

Water bodies Main rivers: muhuri, Silonia, Kahoa.

Administration Phulgazi Thana was formed in 1975 and it was turned into an upazila on 27 March 2002.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
-	6	77	85	4453	115105	1170	56.5	60.1

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
1.92	2	4453	2319	56.5

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Anandapur 27	2792	6462	7133	57.7
Amjadhat 13	5914	9897	11614	54.1
G.M.Hat 74	3027	6074	6596	62.7
Darbarpur 54	2774	9038	8409	63.8
Phulgazi 67	6398	16470	15575	60.3
Munshirhat 81	4347	11556	10734	61.9

Source  Bangladesh Population Census 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Shreepur Jami Mosque, Purna Roy Chowdhury Mandir, Gain Bari Mandir, Durga Mandir.

War of Liberation Phulgazi upazila was under Sector 2 during the war of liberation. On 10 June the freedom fighters shot and killed 50 Pakistani soldiers while they were crossing the Bandua Bridge. The Pak army conducted mass killing and plundering in the upazila. Phulgazi upazila was liberated on 6 December. 5 mass killing sites and one mass grave have been in the upazila.

For details: see ফুলগাজী উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ৬।

Religious institutions Mosque 286, temple 7.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 60.0%; male 62.0%, female 58.1%. Noted educational institutions: Phulgazi Government College (1972), Khaleda Zia Mohila College (1995), Munshirhat Ali Azam High School (1906), G.M.Hat High School (1926), Phulgazi Pilot High School (1929), Phulgazi Girls' High School (1972), Ajmeri Begum Girls' High School (1979), Dakshin Basura Government Primary School (1904), Phulgazi Alia Madrasa.

Cultural organisations Library 6, club 37, cinema hall 1, playground 8.

Main sources of income Agriculture 55.47%, non-agricultural labourer 2.92%, industry 2.21%, commerce 12.74%, transport and communication 3.01%, service 11.39%, construction 1.67%, religious service 0.22%, rent and remittance 2.55% and others 7.82%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 64.79%, landless 35.21%; agricultural landowner: urban 53% and rural 65.69%.

Main crops 'Paddy, wheat, jute, potato, sugarcane, chilli, vegetables.

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 161.75 km, semi-pucca road 17.19, mud road 231.59 km; railway 14 km; waterway 50 km.

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

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

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 14, fairs 2, most noted of which are GM Hat, Darbarpur Kalibazar, Munshirhat, Munshirhat' Natun Bazar, Phulgazi Bazar, Anandapur Bazar.

Access to electricity All the unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 77.8% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 93.8%, tap 1.9% and others 4.3%.

Sanitation 78.3% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 20.7% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 1.0% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health centre 1, union satellite clinic 3, family planning centre 4, community clinic 9, rural health centre 3, union health and family welfare centre 5, community clinic 9.

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

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, asa. [Dildar Hussain]

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