Kalai Upazila

Kalai Upazila (joypurhat district) area 166.30 sq km, located in between 24°59' and 25°11' north latitudes and in between 89°08' and 89°17' east longitudes. It is bounded by panchbibi and gobindaganj upazilas on the north, khetlal and shibganj (bogra) upazilas on the south, Shibganj and Gobindaganj upazilas on the east, Khetlal and joypurhat sadar upazilas on the west.

Population Total 129329; male 65431, female 63898; Muslim 123490, Hindu 5548, Buddhist 41 and others 250. Indigenous communities such as santal and Buno belong to this upazila.

Water bodies Main rivers: Harabati, nagar.

Administration Kalai Thana was formed on 19 August 1981 and it was turned into an upazila on 3 July 1983. Once Kalai upazila was included in Bogra district; it was included in Joypurhat district on 26 February 1984.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
1	5	109	160	7594	121735	778	49.6	38.9

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
5.36	2	7594	1417	49.6

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Ahmmedabad	3763	4542	4491	33.89
Udaypur 85	8877	11918	11892	37.64
Kalai 38	4382	9484	9076	38.78
Zindarpur 95	6245	12502	12071	44.01
Punat 76	7803	14040	13613	41.21
Matrai 66	10022	12945	12755	37.87

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2001,Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Nandail Dighi, Harunja Dhap and Mazar (Harunja); Baligram Rajbari, ancient relics and copperplate (Matrai).

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 45.1%; male 51.4%, female 38.6%. Educational institutions: college 2, technical college 2, secondary school 26, primary school 48, community school 5, madrasa 33. Noted educational institution: Kalai Moyen Uddin High School (1913).

Newspapers and periodicals Ekal and Sekal.

Cultural organisations Library 1, club 37, cinema hall 2.

Tourist spots Nandail Dighi (Harunja).

Main sources of income Agriculture 76.72%, non-agricultural labourer 2.23%, industry 0.24%, commerce 8.78%, transport and communication 3.04%, service 2.92%, construction 0.51%, religious service 0.10% and others 5.46%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 59.67%, landless 40.33%; agricultural landowner: urban 55.82% and rural 59.90%.

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

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, papaya.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Water-melon.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Dairy 113, poultry 96.

Communication facilities Pucca road 83 km, semi-pucca road 12.06 km, mud road 831.77 km.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin, bullock cart.

Noted manufactories Cold storage, ice factory.

Cottage industries Goldsmith, potteries, weaving, blacksmith, cane work, bamboo and wood work.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 15, fairs 3, most noted of which are Punat Hat, Molamgari Hat, Kalai Hat, Harunja Hat, Kalai Mela and Molamgari Mela.

Main exports Paddy, rice, potato.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 27.61% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 96.72%, pond 0.08%, tap 0.49% and others 2.71%.

Sanitation 23.81% (rural 22.06% and urban 53.61%) of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 13.41% (rural 13.35% and urban 14.44%) of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 62.78% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Hospital 1, union health and family welfare centre 5, growth centre 5, community clinic 17, clinic 1.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, asa, thengamara mahila sabuj sangha, proshika. [Shahnaz Parveen]

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