Kotalipara Upazila

Kotalipara Upazila (gopalganj district) area 362.05 sq km, located in between 22°52' and 23°08' north latitudes and in between 89°55' and 89°08' east longitudes. It is bounded by rajoir and madaripur sadar upazilas on the north, nazirpur and wazirpur upazilas on the south, agailjhara, gaurnadi and kalkini upazilas on the east, gopalganj sadar and tungipara upazilas on the west.

Population Total 227025; male 115281, female 111744; Muslim 103116, Hindu 117355, Buddhist 6496 and others 58.

Water bodies Main rivers: Ghagar, Bisharkandi; Janihania Canal and Gopalganj Beel are notable.

Administration Kotalipara upazila was formed in 1983.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
1	12	100	197	10406	216619	627	53.6	49.6

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
2.05	9	9	4994	2436	63.0

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
5.12	5	5412	1057	45.0
Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Amtali 13	4589	9038	9529	48.68
Kalabari 39	11683	12040	11710	49.13
Kandi 47	13191	8750	8015	48.93
Kushla 55	6800	10480	10344	49.01
Ghagar 23	2650	5016	4866	46.73
Pinjuri 63	8406	10973	10413	45.54
Bandhabari 15	3832	5397	5360	48.15
Radhaganj 71	7220	11534	11053	51.28
Ramshil 79	7233	9342	9045	58.24
Suagram 94	4651	4147	3979	53.50
Sadullapur 87	14508	15505	14541	49.01
Hiran 31	4702	10438	10516	46.56

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2001, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Kotalipara Union Institution (1898), Bahutali Sikder Bari Mosque (200 years old), Dighalia Dakhina Kalibari.

History of the War of Liberation On 14 May 1971, the Pak army killed about 150 innocent persons at Kalabari area; they also set many houses of the area on fire. The Pak army raided the Rajapur camp of the freedom fighters (Hemayet Bahini); however, the Pak army was forced to retreat on the verge of counter attack. An encounter was held between the freedom fighters and the Pak army on 14 July in which one freedom fighter was killed and the commander of Hemayet Bahini, Hemayet Uddin was wounded. On 12 October the Pak army brutally killed about 200 innocent persons at Kalabari. The Pak army was defeated in a battle with the freedom fighters on 2 December. The freedom fighter captured 600 Pak soldiers and 120 local razakars on 3 December, and on this day Kotalipara was liberated.

Marks of the War of Liberation Memorial monument 1 (in memory of 16 freedom fighters).

Religious institutions Mosque 220, temple 228, church 39, tomb 1, sacred place 2.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 49.8%; male 54.7%, female 44.8%. Educational institutions: college 5, secondary school 41, primary school 152, kindergarten 4, community primary school 24, madrasa 23. Noted educational institutions: Sheikh Lutfar Rahman Adarsha Government College, Ramshil Union College, Sheikh Hasina Adarsha College, Kotalipara Union Institution, Kotalipara SN Institution, Gopalpur KN Secondary School, East Kotalipara Union High School (1925), West Kotalipara Union Institution (1923), East North Kotalipara SS Madrasa.

Cultural organisations Library 5, club 50, cinema hall 1, circuit house 1, jatra party 1, cultural organisation 2, sport organisation 2, youth organisation 19, women society 63.

Main sources of income Agriculture 70.40%, non-agricultural labourer 1.11%, industry 0.40%, commerce 13.80%, transport and communication 1.00%, service 6.14%, construction 1.34%, religious service 0.25%, rent and remittance 0.06% and others 5.50%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 84.46%, landless 15.54%; agricultural landowner: urban 54.74% and rural 85.84%.

Main crops Paddy, wheat, ground-nut, mesta.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Sesame, aus paddy, mug, china, kaun, linseed.

Main fruits Water-melon, futi, palm.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 581 (shrimp cultivation), dairy 40, poultry 173.

Communication facilities Pucca road 81.83 km, semi-pucca road 18.73 km, mud road 284.63 km.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin, horse carriage.

Cottage industries Goldsmith, blacksmith, potteries, weaving, bamboo, wood and cane work.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 14, fairs 5, most noted of which are Ghagar Bazar, Sikir Bazar, Kalindi Bazar and Trimukhi Bazar; Bhangarhat, Pinjuri Hat, Ramshil Hat, Dhara Basail Hat, Chowdhury Bari Hat, Pirer Bari Hat, Bandhabari Hat, Narikelbari Hat, Radhaganj Hat and Kaliganj Hat. Trimukhi, Ramshil, Kalindi, Ghagar and Kaliganj melas are notable.

Main exports Paddy, fish.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 5.74% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Natural resources Pit coal has been discovered in the in the Bagiar Beel area of the upazila.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 91.93%, tap 0.14%, pond 4.60% and others 3.33%. The presence of intolerable level of arsenic has been detected 79% in shallow tube-well water of the upazila.

Sanitation 53.73% (rural 52.49% and urban 80.49%) of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 36.12% (rural 37.06% and urban 15.88%) of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 10.15% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, satellite clinic 2, union health and family planning centre 12, clinic 1, community clinic 22.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are proshika, brac, asa, World Vision, caritas, Ashar Alo. [Swapan Kumar Gain]

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