Atwari Upazila

Atwari Upazila (panchagarh district) area 209.93 sq km, located in between 26°11' and 26°23' north latitudes and in between 88°19' and 88°34' east longitudes. It is bounded by west bengal and boda upazila on the north, panchagarh sadar upazila on the north-east, Boda upazila on the east, thakurgaon sadar and baliadangi upazilas on the south and Indian border on the west.

Population Total 133650; male 66737, female 66913; Muslim 99681, Hindu 32281, Buddhist 4, Christian 1476 and others 208.

Water bodies Main rivers: tangon, Patharia, nagar.

Administration Atwari, established as a thana under Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal in 1903, was included in Dinajpur district after the partition of 1947 and had been a thana under Panchagarh sub-division since 1980. It was turned into an upazila on 7 November 1983.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
-	6	61	64	11274	122376	637	81.1	57.9

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
14.06	3	11274	802	81.1

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Alowa Khowa 13	9231	13386	13201	50.2
Taria 81	8127	10631	10853	53.5
Dhamor 40	8673	8646	8607	50.5
Balarampur 27	7488	10482	10562	62.4
Mirzapur 54	9228	11716	11907	64.8
Radhanagar 67	9127	11876	11783	75.9

Source Bangladesh Population Census- 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Mirzapur Mosque, Chhapra-jhar (Pahar-Bhanga), Three-domed Mosque (Sardarpara), Imam Bara (Mirzapur).

War of Liberation 11 persons were shot dead by the Pak army at Fakirganj Hat in the last week of April 1971. On 27 May they shot and killed 7 innocent persons including 5 of the same family at village Radhanagar. On 3 June the Pak army killed 5 innocent persons at village Sukhati. Later they also killed 11 persons at village Dhamor at a place near Nayadighi pond. In the last part of October the Pak army killed 27 persons of village Duhapara of Toria union. Freedom fighters had encounters with Pak army at places like Nayani Buruz railway Station, Paniapukhri, Mirzapur and Atwari Thana Camp. There are two mass graves and a twi grave in the upazila; a memorial monument has been built.

For details: see আটোয়ারী উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ১।

Religious institutions Mosque 162, temple 62, church 4.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 59.8%; male 65.7%, female 54.0%. Educational institutions: college 4, secondary school 51, primary school 102, Kinder Garten 3, madrasa 30. Noted educational institutions: Mirza Golam Hafiz Degree College (1988), Mirzapur High School (1876), Alowa Khowa Tafsili High School (1939), Atwari Pilot Boys High School (1965), Atwari Pilot Girls High School (1977), Taria Bilateral High School (1975), Satkhamar Senior Fazil Madrasa (1964).

Newspapers and periodicals Irregular: Uttaran, Ganajagaran, Prodakhep.

Cultural organizations Public library 1, club 25, cinema hall 1.

Main sources of income Agriculture 81.93%, non-agricultural labourer 2.20%, commerce 6.27%, transport and communication 3%, service 3.95%, construction 0.66%, religious service 0.07%, rent and remittance 0.21% and others 1.17%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 69.65%, landless 30.35%; agricultural landowner: urban 68.65% and rural 69.75%.

Main crops Paddy, jute, wheat, potato, sugarcane.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Barley, aush paddy, kaun.

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, litchi, banana, watermelon.

Communication facilities Pucca road 83.51 km, mud road 693.51 km; railways 7 km.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin, bullock cart, buffalo cart.

Cottage industries Potteries, solar industries, jute work, weaving, bamboo work, wood work.

Noted hats, bazars and fairs Fakirganj, Taria, Baraghati, Gunjanmari, Dhamor, Dangirhat, Siktihari, Railbazar, Dhardharar Hat and Alowa Khowa Mela.

Main exports Paddy, jute, wheat, potato.

Access to electricity All the unions of the upazila are under electricity net-work. However 39.2% dwellings have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 96.4%, tap 0.5% and others 3.1%.

Sanitation 69.6% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 12.1% of dwelling houses use non-sanitary latrines; 18.3% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Natural resources Stone, sand.

Health centres Upazila health centre 1, family welfare centre 5, satellite clinic 7, islamic foundation hospital 1.

NGO asa, brac, proshika, rdrs, Disha. [Sherozzaman]

References Bangladesh Population Census 2001 and 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics; Cultural survey report of Atwari Upazila 2007.