Gowainghat Upazila

Gowainghat Upazila (sylhet district) area 481.12 sq km, located in between 24°55' and 25°11' north latitudes and in between 91°45' and 92°07' east longitudes. It is bounded by Meghalaya state of India on the north, sylhet sadar and jaintiapur upazilas on the south, Jaintiapur upazila on the east, companiganj upazila on the west. Jafflong is an important tourist spot. Tamabil land port is used for importing coal and other goods from India.

Population Total 287512; male 143877, female 143635; Muslim 266708, Hindu 19331, Buddhist 269, Christian 905 and others 299. Indigenous community such as khasia belongs to this upazila.

Water bodies Main rivers: shari-goyain and piyain; Damdam Haor and Bara Daia Beel, Shilchand Beel, Bara Dongai Beel, Onai Beel, Balali Beel and Nolkuri Beel are notable.

Administration Gawainghat Thana was formed in 1908 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
-	8	239	266	6069	281443	598	34.7	32.7

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
3.51	2	6069	1729	34.7

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Alirgaon 10	21603	22933	23271	24.3
Towakul 84	12290	12436	12671	28.7
Nandirgaon 63	11062	11850	11621	29.4
Paschim Jaflong 42	14772	21778	21998	35.5
Purba Jaflong 31	11902	25663	25228	40.3
Fatehpur 21	10078	9894	10021	35.1
Rustampur 73	17105	20204	19959	36.3
Lengura 52	8132	19119	18866	28.1

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

War of Liberation On 28 November 1971, the Pak army launched a surprise night attack at village Ujuhat of Alirgaon Union and killed 25 freedom fighters. There had been a number of battles fought by the freedom fighters against the Pak army in the upazila and the most notable among them was at Radhanagr. Freedom fighters also carried out operation against the Pakistani soldiers in their camp on 24 October and a few days more. There are mass graves at 7 places of the upazila (Tamabil zero point, Ujuhat, Atgram, Gowainghat health Complex area and Birkuli); a memorial monument has been built at the Upazila Sadar.

For details: see গোয়াইনঘাট উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ৩।

Religious institutions Mosque 500, temple 80, church 10, tomb 10.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 32.7%; male 35.0%, female 30.4%. Noted educational institutions: Gowainghat Degree College, Gowainghat High School (1952), Alirgaon High School.

Cultural organisations Library 1, shilpakala academy 1,' auditorium 1, community centre 1, playground 10.

Main sources of income Agriculture 59.40%, non-agricultural labourer 14.44%, industry 0.55%, commerce 9.54%, transport and communication 0.67%, service 2.36%, construction 0.49%, religious service 0.42%, rent and remittance 1.24% and others 10.89%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 56.30%, landless 43.70%; agricultural landowner: urban 51.89% and rural 56.40%.

Main crops Paddy, tea, betel leaf, mustard, vegetables.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Linseed, sesame, taykar, satkara.

Main fruits Jackfruit, mango, papaya, banana, betel nut, orange, pineapple, shaddock, palm.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 10, dairy 2, poultry 20.

Communication facilities Roads: pucca 111 km, semi pucca 23 km, mud road 507 km; waterways 40 km. Culverts 144, bridges 84.

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

Manufactories Stone crushing plant, rice mill, brick field 3, tea processing factory, saw mill.

Cottage industries Bamboo work, cane work.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 19, most noted of which are Gowainghat, Radhanagar, Jaflong, Ballaghat, Hadarpar and Salutikar hats.

Main exports Tea, betel leaf, orange, boulder, sand and fish.

Access to electricity All the unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 31.2% of the dwellings have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 45.3%, tap 0.4% and others 54.3%. The presence of arsenic at an intolerable level has been detected in 13.7% shallow tube-wells of the upazila.

Sanitation 20.3% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 57.0% of dwelling houses use non-sanitary latrines; 22.6% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health centre 1, rural health centre 3, family welfare centre 5, charity hospital 1.

NGO activities asa, brac, tmms, FIVDB. [Abdul Hai Al-Hadi]

References Bangladesh Population Census 2001 and 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics; Field report of Gowainghat Upazila 2010.