Kalaroa Upazila

Kalaroa Upazila (satkhira district) area 231.42 sq km, located in between 22°48' and 22°57' north latitudes and in between 88°54' and 89°09' east longitudes. It is bounded by sharsha, jhikargachha and manirampur upazilas on the north, satkhira sadar and tala upazilas on the south, keshabpur, Manirampur and Tala upazilas and the kobadak river on the east, west bengal state of India on the west.'

Population Total 237992; male 116811, female 121181; Muslim 223459, Hindu 12363, Christian 1812 and others 358.

Water bodies Main rivers: Kobadak, Betna, Sonai; Bahura, Ichamati and Noakhali canals are notable.

Administration Kalaroa Thana was formed in 1851 and it was turned into an upazila in 1983. Once Kalaroa was the headquarters of Satkhira Sub Division which was transferred to Satkhira in 1961.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
1	12	112	136	29283	208709	1028	60.56	49.59

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
14.54	9	9	27250	1874	61.3

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
1.62	1	2033	1271	50.7

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Kushadanga 79	4838	8364	8726	46.9
Kaila 87	1816	4216	4366	53.2
Keragachhi 63	4705	10273	10572	49.4
Keralkata 71	6007	10399	10674	48.6
Langaljhara 23	2536	5129	5279	59.3
Chandanpur 13	6476	12173	12537	48.3
Joynagar 47	4061	6919	7225	52.6
Jallabad 39	4565	8484	8806	46.3
Jogikhali 55	4464	6943	7607	49.0
Diara 15	4961	10139	10692	46.1
Sonabaria 94	4596	10226	10656	54.8
Helatala 31	4570	9986	10301	47.5

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Shymsundar Mandir, Three storied Math at Sonabaria, Kotha Bari Than (believed to be the part of a Fort built by the Dewan of Emperor Jahangir), Cheraghat Kayem Mosque (1862).

War of Liberation 29 Pakistani soldiers were killed on 18 September 1971 by an attack of the freedom fighters on the bank of a pond at Baliadanga. Two days later, on 20 September, the Pak army launched a counter attack on the freedom fighters at the same place in which 16 freedom fighters were killed; three freedom fighters were also captured by Pak army. There is a mass grave at Kalaroa Bazar; 2 memorial monuments have been built at Kalaroa and Baliadanga and there is a memorial plate at Murarikati.

For details: see কলারোয়া উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ২।

Religious institutions Mosque 405, temple 8, church 3. Noted religious institutions: Cheraghat Kayem Mosque, Dargah of Mohammad Shah or Mallick Shah, Dargah of Hamidi Shaheb.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 50.9%; male 53.6%, female 48.4%. Educational institutions: college 10, secondary school 46, technical educational institution 4, primary school 124, satellite school 5, madrasa 64. Noted educational institutions: Kalaroa Government College (1969), Sheikh Amanullah Degree College (1993), Dhandia Secondary School (1915), Kalaroa GKMK Pilot High School (1930), Kalaroa Girls' Pilot High School (1969), Hamidpur Hamidia Madrasa (1949), Kalaroa Alia Madrasa (1988).

Newspapers and periodicals Periodical: Pathikrit, Samatat, Suryashikha, Subarna Prasun, Dalchhut.

Cultural organisations Library 5, public institute 1, club 41, cinema hall 3, women's organisation 12, playground 27, kishore theatre 1.

Main sources of income Agriculture 68.89%, non-agricultural labourer 2.81%, industry 1.34%, commerce 13.03%, transport and communication 3.87%, service 4.01%, construction 1.05%, religious service 0.13%, rent and remittance 0.81% and others 4.06%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 51.87%, landless 48.13%; agricultural landowner: urban 43.93% and rural 52.87%.

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

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Sesame, sugarcane, peanut, tobacco, sweet potato, pulse.

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, banana, papaya, guava, litchi, coconut.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Gher 1267, fish hatchery 15, nursery 45.

Communication facilities Pucca road 480 km (highway 9.80 km), semi-pucca road 34.60 km, mud road 305.20 km; waterway 74 nautical miles (Census 2001).

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

Noted manufactories Flour mill, oil mill, cold storage, ice factory, welding factory.

Cottage industries Blacksmith, potteries, weaving, tailoring, bidi factory, boutique shop, cocoon.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 29, fairs 10, most noted of which are Khordo, Kalaroa, Saroskhati, Bhujtala, Sonabaria and Baliadanga bazars.

Main exports Prawn, jute, betel leaf, oil, coconut.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 44.6% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 97.6%, tap 0.6% and others 1.8%. The presence of arsenic has been detected in almost every shallow tube-well water in the rural areas. The average level of arsenic in the shallow tube-well water is 137 micro gram.

Sanitation 54.3% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 40.0% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 5.7% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, family planning centre 12, clinic 1.

Natural disasters A large number of people of the upazila were victims of the famines of 1770, 1784, 1897 and 1943.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, asa, World Vision, Ahsania Mission. [SM Saifur Rahman]

References Bangladesh Population Census 2001 and 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics; Field report of Kalaroa Upazila 2007.