Nawabganj Upazila (Dhaka District)

Nawabganj Upazila (dhaka district) area 244.80 sq km, located in between 23°34' and 23°45' north latitudes and in between 90°01' and 90°17' east longitudes. It is bounded by singair upazila on the north, dohar upazila on the south, keraniganj, serajdikhan and sreenagar upazilas on the east, harirampur and manikganj sadar upazilas on the west.

Population Total 296605; male 145548, female 151057; Muslim 231488, Hindu 59559, Buddhist 5535 and others 23.

Water bodies Main rivers: ichamati, Kaliganga; Aona Canal and Bhangabhita Canal are notable.

Administration Nawabganj Thana was formed in 1874 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
-	14	190	329	15797	280808	1212	63.6	53.9

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
1.76	6	15797	8975	63.57

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Agla 6	3720	7863	8257	56.83
Kalakopa 74	1700	10778	10015	63.86
Kailail 67	8630	13415	12700	45.20
Galimpur 47	2241	5713	6063	60.29
Churain 40	5165	10494	10902	60.20
Joykrishnapur 61	3990	7727	8759	51.16
Nayansree 81	5468	12061	13370	58.94
Bakshanagar 13	2077	8976	9464	59.50
Baruakhali 33	2602	6499	7021	47.62
Barrah 27	4224	11433	12077	54.45
Bandura 20	3689	14662	14871	61.91
Jantrail 54	4807	11072	11273	51.68
Shikari Para 88	2738	7743	8599	46.89
Sholla 94	9459	17112	17686	45.75

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2001, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Braja Niketan, Hasnabad Church, Bakshanagar Church, Baghmara Math, remnants of the residence of Zamindar Khelaram Dada.

Religious institutions Mosque 485, temple 195, church 6, tomb 2. Noted religious institutions: tomb of Hazrat Afaz Uddin Shah (R) (Galimpur).

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 54.4%; male 56.4%, female 52.6%. Educational institutions: college 7, secondary school 34, primary school 109, community school 13, madrasa 4. Noted educational institutions: Bandura Holy Cross High School (1912), Churain Tarini Bama High School (1923).

Cultural organisations Club 48, community centre 1, music academy 1, cinema hall 4, cultural organisation 3, women organisation 1, theatre group 2.

Main sources of income Agriculture 31.01%, non-agricultural labourer 3.07%, industry 3.68%, commerce 12.98%, transport and communication 1.95%, service 12.26%, construction 3.82%, religious service 0.13%, rent and remittance 19.36% and others 11.74%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 42.42%, landless 57.58%; agricultural landowner: urban 25.62% and rural 43.32%.

Main crops Boro paddy, aman paddy, potato, jute, mustard, pulse.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Aus paddy, tobacco.

Main fruits Mango, guava, papaya, jackfruit, coconut, litchi, banana.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 250, dairy 240, poultry 165.

Communication facilities Pucca road 96.50 km, semi-pucca road 106 km, mud road 660 km; waterway 11 nautical miles; bridge 3, culvert 150.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin, bullock cart, horse carriage.

Cottage industries Goldsmith, blacksmith, weaving, embroidery, wood work, bamboo work.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 41, fairs 4, most noted of which are Bairagi Paush Mela at Bandhanpara and mela of Hazrat Afaz Uddin Shah (R) at Galimpur.

Main exports Jute, cotton sari and lungi.

Access to electricity All the unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 42.05% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 93.41%, tap 0.36%, pond 1.31% and others 4.92%. The presence of arsenic has been detected in shallow tube-well water of the upazila.

Sanitation 38.69% (rural 37.52% and urban 60.56%) of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 55.90% (rural 56.97% and urban 36.04%) of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 5.41% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, union health and family welfare centre 10, community clinic 26, satellite clinic 4, family planning centre 4.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are World Vision, thengamara mahila sabuj sangha, brac, asa, proshika. [Md. Abu Hasan Farooque]

References Bangladesh Population Census 2001, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics; Field report of Nawabganj Upazila 2010.