Tongibari Upazila

Tongibari Upazila (munshiganj district) area 149.96 sq km, located in between 23°24´ and 23°34´ north latitudes and in between 90°24´ and 90°31´ east longitudes. It is bounded by narayanganj sadar upazila on the north, naria and zanjira upazilas on the south, munshiganj sadar upazila on the east, lohajang and serajdikhan upazilas on the west.

Population Total 190531; male 96298, female 94233; Muslim 175043, Hindu 15450, Buddhist 30 and others 8.

Water bodies Main rivers: padma and ichamati.

Administration Tongibari Thana was turned into an upazila in 1983.

Upazila

Municipality

Union

Mouza

Village

Population

Density (per sq km)

Literacy rate (%)

Urban

Rural

Urban

Rural

-

51.5

52.1

Upazila Town

Area (sq km)

Mouza

Population

Density (per sq km)

Literacy rate (%)

6.60

56.0

Union

Name of union and GO code

Area (acre)

Population

Literacy rate (%)

Male

Female

Autshahi 23

52.55

Arial 15

50.97

Abdullahpur 07

53.34

Kathadia Shimulia 79

49.19

Kamarkhara 71

53.95

Dighir Para 47

48.03

Dhipur 39

53.27

Panchgaon 87

54.38

Betka 31

53.96

Jashalong 63

54.49

Sonarang Tongibari 94

54.39

Hasail Banari 55

42.96

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2001, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Statue of touchstone (now preserved in the National Museum), ancient Math and Temple (Kalibari), Sonarang Jora Mandir.

History of the War of Liberation During the war of liberation in 1971 the Pakistani soldiers killed 15 innocent villagers at Paler Bari in Abdullahpur union. At the end of September, the freedom fighters attacked the police station of Tongibari and captured a large number of arms and ammunitions.

Marks of the War of Liberation Memorial sculpture 1.

Religious institutions Mosque 305, temple 16. Noted religious institutions: Abdullahpur Jami Mosque, Betka Jami Mosque, seven storied Minar Mosque at Pura, Dargah of Fazu Shah.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 52.4%; male 54.7%, female 50.0%. Noted educational institutions: Swarnagram RN High School (1898), Abdullahpur Multilateral High School (1899), Sonarang Pilot High School (1900), Outshahi Radhanath High School (1901), Banari Multilateral School (1901), Dighir Para AC Institution (1902), Paikpara High School (1904), Brahmanvita Union High School (1913), Arial Swarnamaye High School (1914).

Cultural organisations Library 48, cultural organisation 3, cinema hall 3.

Main sources of income Agriculture 42.08%, non-agricultural labourer 2.98%, industry 1.01%, commerce 24.33%, transport and communication 3.93%, service 7.01%, construction 1.92%, religious service 0.23%, rent and remittance 5.48% and others 11.03%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 45.84%, landless 54.10%; agricultural landowner: urban 52.84% and rural 45.24%.

Main crops Paddy, jute, potato, betel leaf, vegetables.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Wheat, sesame, pulse.

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, banana, papaya.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries This upazila has a number of fishery, dairy and poultry.

Communication facilities Pucca road 41 km, semi-pucca road 28 km, mud road 230 km.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin, bullock cart.

Cottage industries Goldsmith, blacksmith, potteries, weaving, shital pati, wood work, bamboo work.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 18, most noted of which are Tongibari Hat, Betka Hat, Subochoni Hat, Dighir Para Hat, Abdullahpur Bazar, Panchgaon Bazar and Dighli Bazar.

Main exports Paddy, jute, potato, banana, vegetables, yarn.

Access to electricity All the unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 53.51% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 95.97%, tap 0.49%, pond 0.46% and others 3.08%. The presence of arsenic in an intolerable level has been detected in the shallow tube well water of the upazila.

Sanitation 72.38% (rural 90.26% and urban 70.84%) of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 24.22% (rural 25.69% and urban 7.13%) of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 3.40% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, satellite clinic 5, family welfare centre 11, clinic 9, diagnostic centre 5, clinic 1.

Natural disasters Many people were victims of the earthquake of 1304, the famine of 1944 and the flood of 1991; these natural disasters also caused heavy damages to settlements, crops and livestock of the upazila.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are asa, CARE, brac, proshika. [Masuma Sultana Champa]

References Bangladesh Population Census 2001, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics; Cultural survey report of Tongibari Upazila 2007. [Champa, Masuma Sultana Writer and researcher, Tongibari, Munshiganj]