Pirganj Upazila (Rangpur District)

Pirganj Upazila (rangpur district) area 409.37 sq km, located in between 25°18' and 25°31' north latitudes and in between 89°08' and 89°25' east longitudes. It is bounded by mithapukur upazila on the north, palashbari, ghoraghat and nawabganj sadar (dinajpur) upazilas on the south, sadullapur upazila on the east, Mithapukur, Nawabganj Sadar (Dinajpur) and Ghoraghat upazilas on the west.

Population Total 345593; male 176025, female 169568; Muslim 317841, Hindu 22498, Buddhist 1869, Christian 454 and others 2931.

Water bodies Main river: karatoya, Jamuneshwari, Akhira;' Pirganj is called the upazila of beel.

Administration Pirganj Thana, now an upazila, was formed in 1910.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
-	15	308	333	12141	333452	844	52.63	38.56

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
6.24	6	12141	1946	52.63

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Kabilpur 37	7506	13586	13012	34.43
Kumedpur 44	5806	10328	10376	34.78
Chatra 31	8543	11996	11417	38.01
Chaitrakul 25	7470	10201	9882	35.72
Tukuria 95	6665	9216	8427	33.78
Panchgachha 63	5721	11409	11348	43.75
Pirganj 69	5895	16016	15357	44.79
Bara Alampur 06	7960	9467	8910	34.75
Bara Dargah 12	5676	12773	12375	41.11
Bhendabari 18	6196	9873	9487	43.77
Madankhali 50	6686	10684	10067	39.08
Mithapur 56	6786	13358	13075	38.68
Ramnathpur 82	8345	14918	14414	39.31
Roypur 75	5729	10439	9936	42.33
Shanerhat 88	6461	11761	11485	38.07

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2001, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Remnants of the palace of Raja Nilambar at Patgram, Tomb of Shah Ismail Ghazi, seven fort at Satgara (fort of Birat Raja, cattle house of Birat Raja, fort of Kuru Pandava, palace of Nora Raja, etc.), house and tomb of Poet Hayat Mahmud (medieval period) at village Jhar Bishla, Khalashpur Hat Jami Mosque, three domed Mosque at Dariapur, Hatibanda Mosque, Zamindar Bari and Mandir at Roypur, Khalisha Church.

Historical events On 22 February 1952, hartal was observed demanding Bangla as the state language. On the same day, a meeting was organized by the students and general public and declared to continue the language movement until the demand is fulfilled. In the beginning of the war of liberation the general public destroyed the Angrar Bridge on the Dhaka-Rangpur Road to obstruct the movement of the Pak army. In retaliation, the Pak army conducted torture, plundering and set many houses on fire at Jelepara, Wazirpur and at Madarganj Hat. From November the freedom fighters started launching guerrilla operation in the upazila. Besides, encounters between the freedom fighters and the Pak army were held in different areas from Laldighi to Bara Dargah.

Marks of the War of Liberation Mass grave 2 (Angrar Bridge, Madarganj Hat).

Religious institutions Mosque 520, temple 130, tomb 8, church 6. Noted religious institutions: Khalashpur Hat Jami Mosque, Hatibandha Mosque, Roypur Zamindar Bari Mandir.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 39.07%; male 43.37%, female 34.64%. Noted educational institutions: Kadirabad High School (1916), Roypur High School (1931), Madankhali Primary School (1910), Chawk Karim Primary School (1926).

Newspapers and periodicals Weekly: Bajrakantha.

Cultural organisations Library 1, club 70, theatre group 2, branch office of Biswa Sahitya Kendra 1, cinema hall 3.

Main sources of income Agriculture 74.87%, non-agricultural labourer 2.7%, industry 0.57%, commerce 9.17%, transport and communication 3.62%, service 3.65%, construction 0.76%, religious service 0.16%, rent and remittance 0.8% and others 3.7%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 57.94%, landless 42.06%; agricultural landowner: urban 55.85% and rural 58.01%.

Main crops Paddy, wheat, maize, sugarcane, mustard, potato, vegetables.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Jute, arahar, aus paddy.

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, blackberry, litchi, papaya, banana.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 35, dairy 35, poultry 30.

Communication facilities Pucca road 140' km, mud road 440 km.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin, bullock cart.

Noted manufactories Rice mill, saw mill, oil mill, welding factory.

Cottage industries Blacksmith, potteries, husking mill, jute work, wood work.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 27, fairs 10, most noted of which are Khalashpur Hat, Bhendabari Hat, Motherganj Hat, Chatra Hat, Shanerhat, Tukuria Hat, Colony Bazar Hat, Kadirabad Bazar, Balua Bazar, Pirganj Bazar, Baurani Mela at Zaffarpur, Baruni Mela at Bara Beel, Baruni Mela at Harin Singer Dighi, Bhendabari Mela, Phulbari Mela and Muharram Mela at Bara Dargah.

Main exports Paddy, wheat, potato, banana, sugarcane molasses, vegetables.

Access to electricity All the unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 13.15% (urban 48.39% and rural 12.09%) of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Natural resources Khalishpur coal mine at Magura have been found in this upazila.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 94.08%, tap 0.16%, pond 0.21% and others 5.55%.

Sanitation 10.3% (rural 9.5% and urban 37.12%) of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 27.87% (rural 27.93% and urban 25.93%) of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 61.83% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health centre 1, family planning centre 12, union health centre 15, charitable hospital 7.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, asa, HEED Bangladesh. [Abu Md. Iqbal Rumi Shah]

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