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 291823; male 142900, female 148923; Muslim 271678, Hindu 20032, Buddhist 30, Christian 30 and others 53.

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	131	151	47658	244165	1537	53.72	48.19

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
16.09	09	14	42806	2660	52.45

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
3.94	2	7683	1950	64.43

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Uttar Kalocho 50	3642	9967	10734	46.72
Dakshin Kalocho 55	3896	12668	14292	44.83
Uttar Gandharabpur 25	4193	9012	9207	46.65
Dakshin Gandharbapur 30	3734	8236	8809	52.85
Paschim Barkul 20	3143	11590	11794	44.01
Purba Barkul 18	3890	11743	12095	49.40
Uttar Rajargaon 70	4542	12662	14281	47.61
Bakila75	3762	11501	12263	47.39
Hajiganj Sadar 35	5893	16933	17647	54.84
Pachim Hatila 60	-	6510	7040	43.52
Hatila Purba 65	6256	9822	10211	52.53

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2001, 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.

History of the 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 also set many houses on fire. Later on the freedom fighters conducted a counter attack in which 17 Pak soldiers were killed and so were two freedom fighters.

Marks of War of Liberation Samadhi 1, memorial monument 1.

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 49.12%; male 50.23%, female 48.09%. 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 39 km, semi-pucca road 13 km, mud road 575 km; waterway 15 nautical miles; railway 8 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 40.57% (urban 71.30 and rural 34.94) of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 86.93%, tap 2.30%, pond 7.03% and others 3.74%. The presence of intolerable level of arsenic has been detected in 99% shallow tube-well water of the upazila.

Sanitation 62.45% (rural 59.71% and urban 78.51%) of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 25.53% (rural 28% and urban 12.07%) of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 12.01% (rural 12.49% and urban 9.42%) 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, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics; Cultural survey report of Hajiganj Upazila 2007.