Kalihati Upazila
Kalihati Upazila (tangail district) area 301.22 sq km, located in between 24°17' and 24°26' north latitudes and in between 89°45' and 90°11' east longitudes. It is bounded by bhuapur and ghatail upazilas on the north, tangail sadar and basail upazilas on the south, sakhipur upazila on the east, jamuna river, sirajganj sadar and belkuchi upazilas on the west.
Population Total 376407; male 193967, female 182440; Muslim 345587, Hindu 30764, Buddhist 24 and others 32.
Water bodies jamuna, Lohajang, Old Dhaleshwari, bangshi; Charan, Kumar, Dhali and Talla beels are notable.
Administration Kalihati Thana was formed in 1928 and it was turned into an upazila in 1983.
| Upazila | ||||||||
| Municipality | Union | Mouza | Village | Population | Density (per sq km) | Literacy rate (%) | ||
| Urban | Rural | Urban | Rural | |||||
| 1 | 11 | 264 | 301 | 32494 | 343913 | 1250 | 42.7 | 37.1 |
| Municipality | ||||||||
| Area (sq km) | Ward | Mahalla | Population | Density (per sq km) | Literacy rate (%) | |||
| 14.52 | 9 | 16 | 30094 | 2073 | 44 | |||
| Upazila Town | ||||||||
| Area (sq km) | Mouza | Population | Density (per sq km) | Literacy rate (%) | ||||
| 0.95 | 1 | 2400 | 2526 | 25.3 | ||||
| Union | ||||||||
| Name of union and GO code | Area (acre) | Population | Literacy rate (%) | |||||
| Male | Female | |||||||
| Elenga 36 | 5419 | 17455 | 16691 | 41.42 | ||||
| Kok Dahara 58 | 4798 | 13943 | 13366 | 35.17 | ||||
| Durgapur 29 | 8834 | 12854 | 9450 | 32.13 | ||||
| Nagbari 65 | 6223 | 14614 | 13938 | 36.86 | ||||
| Narandia 73 | 6715 | 15375 | 15153 | 40.85 | ||||
| Paikara 80 | 4629 | 13924 | 13203 | 35.56 | ||||
| Parki | 673 | 1418 | 1285 | 29.90 | ||||
| Balla 12 | 3651 | 20244 | 16390 | 38.20 | ||||
| Bangra 14 | 5862 | 13611 | 13027 | 44.42 | ||||
| Bir Basunda 21 | 6391 | 17540 | 16198 | 30.53 | ||||
| Salla 87 | 3997 | 9702 | 9421 | 36.14 | ||||
| Gohaliabari | 3947 | 7509 | 7231 | 3131 | ||||
| Dashkia | 2808 | 7445 | 6894 | 41.34 | ||||
Archaeological heritage and relics Ashrafia Jami Mosque (Fultala), Kadim Hamjani Jami Mosque (Salla),' Pachh Charan Jami Mosque, Elenga Zamindar Bari.
History of the War of Liberation A battle was fought between the freedom fighters and the Pak army on 19 April 1971 in which nearly350 Pak soldiers including a Major was killed, and so were 11 freedom fighters. On 10 December, the Indian allied forces launched attack on the Pak army in which 370 Pak soldiers were killed, more than one hundred were wounded and nearly 600 Pak soldiers were captured.
Religious institutions Kalihati Central Jami Mosque, Balla Jami Mosque, tomb of Shah Ekin, Kalihati Central Joykali Mandir and north Betdoba Baro Kali Mandir are notable.
Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 37.6%; male 42.3%, female 32.7%. Educational institutions: college 8, technical educational institution 3, secondary school 52, primary school 170, madrasa 19. Noted educational institutions: Allauddin Siddiqui College (1971), Shamsul Haque College (1972), Kalihati College (1979), Lutfur Rahman Matin Mahila College (2000), Kalihati RS Pilot High School (1915), Gopaldighi KP High School (1917), Balla Coronation High School (1911), Kok Dahara High School (1889), Rajafair High School (1908), Barga Sarisha Ata High School (1902), Sattia Government Primary School (1926), Chatipara Primary School (1916), Gohaliabari Fazil Madrasa (1922).
Newspapers and periodicals Daily: Bangshai, weekly: Samal, Intekhab, Ganabiplab, fortnightly: Ahmmadi (defunct).
Cultural organisations Library 4, club 189, theatre group 5, cinema hall 10, women society 22, playground 34, music academy 3, cultural organisation 6.
Important installations and tourist spots bangabandhu jamuna multipurpose bridge, Jamuna Resort.
Main sources of income Agriculture 46.75%, non-agricultural labourer 3.73%, industry 2.21%, commerce 15.53%, transport and communication 3.53%, service 6.20%, construction 1.24%, religious service 0.20%, rent and remittance 2.90% and others 17.71%.
Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 56.69%, landless 43.31%; agricultural landowner: urban 45.11% and rural 57.80%.
Main crops Paddy, wheat, mustard, potato, onion, ginger, garlic, pulse, vegetables.
Extinct or nearly extinct crops Sesame, linseed, kusum, mug.
Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, blackberry, litchi, banana, papaya, water-melon.
Fisheries, dairies and poultries This upazila has a number of fisheries, dairies, poultries and hatcheries.
Communication facilities Pucca road 130.81 km, mud road 113.29 km.
Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin, horse carriage, bullock cart.
Noted manufactories Rice mill, flour mill, ice factory.
Cottage industries There are about 50000 hand looms in this upazila. Cotton sari produced in Balla is very famous. Other cottage industries include goldsmith, blacksmith, wood work, tailoring, bamboo and cane work, bidi factory, etc.
Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 26, fairs 11; most noted of which are Balla Hat, Bhandeshwar Hat, Hamidpur Hat, Kasturi Para Hat, Elenga Hat, Saya Hat, Ichhapur Hat, Baghutia Hat, Paujan Hat, Bijaya Dasami Mela at Kalihati, Baruni Mela at Fultala and Bangra and Chaitra Samkranti Mela at Sahadebpur.
Main exports Banana, onion, garlic, potato, papaya, ginger, jackfruit.
Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 20.42% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.'
Sources of drinking water Tube-well 93.54%, pond 0.16%, tap 0.61% and others 5.69%.
Sanitation 37.94% (rural 36.46% and urban 53.36%) of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 49.81% (rural 51.58% and urban 31.32%) of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 12.25% of households do not have latrine facilities.
Health centres Upazila health complex 1, health and family planning centre 11, non-government health and charitable hospital 2, maternity and child welfare centre 10, clinic 52.
Natural disasters Many people of the upazila were victims of the famine of 1943. About 523 persons lost their life and about 30 thousand were wounded as victim to the tornado of 1996; it also completely disarrayed 67 villages of the upazila.
NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, asa, CARE, proshika, Swanirvar Bangladesh, PKS, Pally Samaj Unnayan Parishad. [Shymal Chandra Nath]
References Bangladesh Population Census 2001, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics; Cultural survey report of Kalihati Upazila 2007.
