Amtali Upazila

Amtali Upazila (barguna district) area 720.76 sq km, located in between 21°51' and 22°18' north latitudes and in between 90°00' and 90°23' east longitudes. It is bounded by patuakhali sadar upazila on the north, bay of bengal on the south, galachipa and kalapara upazilas on the east, barguna sadar and mirzaganj upazilas (patuakhali) on the west.

Population Total 259757; male 132017, female 127740; Muslim 242517, Hindu 16058, Christian 1134, Buddhist 18 and others 30. Indigenous community such as rakhain community belongs to Barabagi and Panchakoralia unions to this upazila.

Water bodies Burishwar and Andarmanick rivers and Rabnabad channel are noted.

Administration Gulisakhali thana, formed in 1859, was shifted to Amtali in 1904 and it was turned into an upazila in 1982.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
1 (Amtali)	10	66	181	18179	241578	360	64.3	44.5

Municipality
Area (sq km))	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
8.75	9	15	13305	1521	69.9

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
12.25	1	4874	400	48.2

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Atharogashia 23	8873	11357	11271	42.67
Arpangashia 15	6633	7483	7050	42.21
Amtali 13	12531	12122	11728	84.26
Karaibariav 79	13429	10452	10020	52.24
Kukua 87	4444	11571	11788	39.73
Gulishakhali 63	10935	14065	14118	45341
Chowra 47	8062	10178	9968	47.83
Panchakoralia 94	13044	12269	11995	29.15
Barabagi 39	33423	20034	18438	48.95
Haldia 71	17444	15439	15106	46.68

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2001, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Tomb of Kazi Kalu at Tepura and clay fort at Chaora Patakata (Mughal period).

Marks of the War of Liberation Memorial monument 3.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 45.90%; male 49.10%, female 42.70%. Noted educational institutions: Amtali Degree College (1969), Amtali AK Pilot High School (1934).

Newspaper and periodicals Payrapar (weekly), Shok Noy Shakti.

Cultural organizations Club 26, Library 1, theatre group 2, literary organisation 2, women's organisation 2, cinema hall 3.

Main sources of income Agriculture 70.46%, non-agriculture labourer 4.01%, commerce 9.42%, service 4.27%, construction 1.02%, religious service 0.18%, rent and remittance 0.16%, transport and communication 1.74%, industry 0.26% and others 8.48%.

Main crops Paddy, peanut, khesari, mug, gram, mustard, potato, chilli, pumpkin.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Sesame, linseed.

Main fruits Guava, amra, watermelon.

Communication facilities Waterways 410 nautical miles.

Traditional transport Palanquin.

Noted manufactories Saw mill, flour mill, soap factory, pen factory.

Cottage industries Weaving, blacksmith, welding, potteries, wood work, cane work, bamboo work.

Hats, bazars and fair Gazipur cattle market and Gazi Kalu's Mela are notable.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of this upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 9.05% of the dwelling households only have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 93.82%, tap 0.03%, pond 4.37% and others 1.51%. Arsenic in tolerable limit has been detected in shallow tube-well water of this upazila.

Sanitation 34.98% (rural 31.70% and urban 80.18%) of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 55.44% (urban 58.23% and rural 17.05%) of dwelling houses use non-sanitary latrines; 9.58% of households do not have sanitation facilities.

Heath centres Upazila health centre 1, satellite clinic 3, union health and family planning centre 3, family planning centre 7.

Natural disasters A devastating tidal bore and cyclone of 12 November 1970 in the region causing loss of the people and of livestock; it also damaged serious damage to crops.

NGO activities Care, brac, asa, proshika, Dhaka Ahsania Mission, caritas. [Shabuddin Panna]

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