Jhalokati Sadar Upazila

Jhalokati Sadar Upazila (jhalokati district) area 204.48 sq km, located in between 21°35' and 22°47' north latitudes and in between 90°06' and 90°17' east longitudes. It is bounded by banaripara, wazirpur and babuganj upazilas on the north, rajapur upazila on the south, barisal sadar and nalchity upazilas on the east, kawkhali (pirojpur R), Nesarabad and Banaripara upazilas on the west.

Population Total 200117; male 101075, female 99042; Muslim 166176, Hindu 33831, Buddhist 50, Christian 30 and others 30.

Water bodies Main rivers: Gazalia, bishkhali.

Administration Jhalokati Thana was formed in 1913 and it was turned into an upazila in 1984. Municipality was formed in 1875.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
1	10	158	190	46462	153655	979	72.7	61.5

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
16.07	9	47	45428	2827	61.49

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
2.27	1	1034	456	48.41

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Kirtipasha 66	4817	8105	8032	65.27
Keora 57	3518	5674	5866	61.02
Gabkhan Dhansiri 28	4714	6412	6733	63.78
Gabha Ramchandrapur 38	5260	9038	9178	63.36
Nabagram 76	5287	8332	8160	64.35
Nathullabad 63	5822	6041	6493	62.65
Ponabalia 85	4902	8384	8075	49.48
Basanda 17	5517	7045	6804	56.02
Binoykati 19	6501	10199	10433	64.92
Sekherhat 95	6060	7698	7987	61.67

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2001, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Remnants of the Ghoshal Rajbari, Nurullahpur Math, Shiva Mandir at Hazragati, tomb of Angir Shah at Shekherhat, old Municipal building,

History of the War of Liberation Having entered into Jhalokati sadar on 27 April 1971, the Pak army started indiscriminate killing, plundering, raping' in diferrent places; they also set many houses on fire. On 5 May encounters were held between the Sarvahara Party of Siraj Sikder and the Pak army at Madra, Vhimrul and Peara Bagan in which 21 Pak soldiers including the razakars were killed. The Pak army killed 23 pious Muslims on 23 May at Ramanathpur Sharif Bari while they were on prayer. On 13 November, 18 Pak soldiers including 2nd Lt. Ajmat were killed in an encounter with the freedom fighters at Chachair and Premdaha. The Pak army was forced to leave Jhalokati on 8 December.

Marks of the War of Liberation Mass killing site 4 (on the bank of Sugandha, Palbari Ghat, Godown Ghat, Khejura Khalpar; Memorial sculpture 1 (City Park).

Religious institutions Mosque 470, temple 127, tomb 1.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 64.2%; male 66.0%, female 62.2%. Noted educational institutions: Jhalokati Government College (1964), Jhalokati Government Mahila College, Sher-E-Bangla A K Fazlul Haque College, Jhalokati Government High School (1872), Kirtipasha Prosanna Kumar Secondary School (1903), Baukati Bindu Bashini Secondary School (1918), Jhalokati Government Girls' school (1919), Nathullabad Secondary School (1923), Taruli Secondary School (1957), Poura Adarsha Government Primary School (1902), Baharampur Government Primary School (1905), Sarengal Nesaria Honainia Fazil Madrasa (1974).

Newspapers and periodicals Daily: Shatakantha (defunct); defunct periodicals: Satabarsha Shoronika (1975), Mohona (1976), Chader Hasi (1978), Kalantar (1978), Onnesa (1978), Banglar Barta (1983), Biplobi Bangla (1983), Pari (1986), Suryaloka (1992), Ajker Shabdakosh (1995), Namta (1996), Arkh (1996), Protiva (1996), Agraha (1996), Sreshti (1996), Shanko (1997), Kamini (1998), Weekly Robbarer Chithi (1972).

Cultural organisations Library 15, club 19, cinema hall 1, theatre group 4, playground 24.

Main sources of income Agriculture 38.84%, non-agricultural labourer 6.30%, industry 0.98%, commerce 18.40%, transport and communication 3.34%, service 16.88%, construction 2.75%, religious service 0.29%, rent and remittance 1.64% and others 10.58%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 63.10%, landless 36.90%; agricultural landowner: urban 38.20% and rural 70.10%.

Main crops Paddy, pulse, vegetables.

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

Main fruits Mango, banana, papaya, betel nut, blackberry, coconut.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 11, dairy 17, poultry 13, hatchery 1.

Communication facilities Pucca road 20 km, semi-pucca road 95 km, mud road 259 km; waterway 8 nautical miles.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin.

Noted manufactories Salt factory, flour mill, ice factory, saw mill, rice mill, biscuit factory, bidi factory.

Cottage industries Goldsmith, weaving, embroidery, potteries, wood work, tailoring.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 21, fairs 7, most noted of which are Baukati Hat, Jhalokati Hat, Gabkhan Hat.

Main exports Paddy, salt.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 27.22% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 92.93%, tap 2.35%, pond 3.13% and others 1.59%. The presence of intolerable level of arsenic has been detected in shallow tube-well water of the upazila.

Sanitation 63.32% (rural 54.80% and urban 93.68%) of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 32.55% (rural 40.32% and urban 4.86%) of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 4.13% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Hospital 2, satellite clinic 3, family planning centre 11.

Natural disasters The floods of 1786, 1988 and the cyclones and tidal bores of 1822, 1909, 1960 and 1970 caused huge loss of life of people; it also caused heavy damages to settlements, livestock and crops of the upazila. Besides, many people were also victims of the famine of 1943.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, proshika, asa, caritas. [Md Mizanur Rahman]

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