Kalaroa Upazila
Kalaroa Upazila (satkhira district) area 232.64 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 221596; male 112258, female 109338; Muslim 207633, Hindu 11578, Buddhist 1816, Christian 15 and others 554.
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 |
26020 |
195576 |
953 |
57.02 |
44.04 |
| Municipality | ||||||||
|
Area |
Ward |
Mahalla |
Population |
Density |
Literacy rate (%) | |||
|
14.54 |
9 |
9 |
24209 |
1665 |
57.60 | |||
| Upazila Town | ||||||||
|
Area |
Mouza |
Population |
Density |
Literacy rate (%) | ||||
|
1.66 |
1 |
1811 |
1091 |
48.89 | ||||
| Union | ||||
| Name of union and GO code | Area (acre) | Population | Literacy rate (%) | |
| Male | Female | |||
|
Kushadanga 79 |
4838 |
8091 |
7830 |
42.19 |
|
Keragachhi 63 |
4705 |
10022 |
9817 |
41.33 |
|
Keralkata 71 |
6007 |
9884 |
9682 |
43.93 |
|
Gopinathpur 23 |
2536 |
4746 |
4744 |
48.84 |
|
Chandanpur 13 |
6476 |
11741 |
11291 |
42.58 |
|
Joynagar 47 |
4061 |
6749 |
6639 |
42.97 |
|
Jallabad 39 |
4565 |
8443 |
8433 |
43.40 |
|
Jogikhali 55 |
4464 |
7441 |
7224 |
43.44 |
|
Diara 15 |
4961 |
9639 |
9539 |
44.81 |
|
Murarikati 87 |
1816 |
3776 |
3795 |
45.76 |
|
Sonabaria 94 |
4596 |
9989 |
9739 |
49.08 |
|
Helatala 31 |
4570 |
9168 |
8965 |
43.47 |
Source Bangladesh Population Census 2001, 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).
History of the War of Liberation On 18 September 1971, about 29 Pak soldiers were killed by an attack of the freedom fighters on the bank of a pond at Baliadanga. 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 the Pak army.
Marks of the War of Liberation Mass grave 1 (Kalaroa Bazar), memorial monument 2' (Kalaroa and Baliadanga); memorial plate 1 (Murarikati).
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 45.59%; male 50.59%, female 40.47%. 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.
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 14.98% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.
Sources of drinking water Tube-well 97.02%, tap 0.33%, pond 0.21% and others 2.44%. 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 25.97% (rural 51.43% and urban 61.70%) of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 39.06% (rural 41.23% and urban 21.99%) of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 34.97% 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, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics; Field report of Kalaroa Upazila 2007.
