Nabiganj Upazila

Nabiganj Upazila (habiganj district) area 439.61 sq km, located in between 24°25' and 24°41' north latitudes and in between 91°24' and 91°40' east longitudes. It is bounded by derai and jagannathpur upazilas on the north, habiganj sadar and bahubal upazilas on the south, sreemangal, maulvibazar sadar and balaganj upazilas on the east, baniachang upazila on the west.

Population Total 345179; male 169720, female 175459; Muslim 289801, Hindu 54833, Buddhist 179, Christian 49 and others 317.

Water bodies Main rivers: barak, Lungla-Bijani, Bibiyana, Dima, Kulkulia; Jura Beel, Kuliabhanga Beel, Ganjua Beel are notable.

Administration Nabiganj Thana was formed in 1839 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
1	13	203	356	29513	315666	785	50.28 (2001)	40.3

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
9.73 (2001)	9	22	23989	2006 (2001)	50.9

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
7.00 (2001)	5	5524	907 (2001)	40.1

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Auskandi 13	7818	13482	13587	43.7
Inathganj 51	5846	11956	12251	50.1
Kargaon 65	14613	14588	14930	39.3
Kalair Banga 58	7591	9683	9850	39.5
Kurshi 73	8806	12915	13707	39.8
Gaznapur 43	7218	13835	14681	32.9
Dighalbak 29	8814	13132	13763	43.5
Debpara 21	8172	13551	13781	43.3
Nabiganj 80	5386	9779	10026	33.9
Paschim Bara Bhakhair 94	6746	8336	8973	40.8
Paniunda 87	12348	12567	13081	40.1
Purba Bara Bakhair 90	5583	9390	9837	37.2
Bausha 14	8485	14390	15119	37.7

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2001 and 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

War of Liberation Freedom fighters had a number of encounters with the local collaborators of the Pak army in Nabiganj and notable among them were those at the razakar camps at Dinarpur, Chowdhury Bazar of Bausha union and Shatak Primary School. Freedom fighters also had an encounter with the Pak army in the upazila towards the end of November 1971. There is a mass grave in the upazila; a memorial monument has been built.

For details: see নবীগঞ্জ উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ৫।

Religious institutions Mosque 321, temple 27, tomb 6, sacred place 2. Noted religious institutions: tomb of Shah Tajuddin Qureshi (R), tomb of Shah Sadaruddin Qureshi (R), tomb of Sayed Nur Shah (R), tomb of Tangitila.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 41.0%; male 41.7%, female 40.4%. Educational institutions: college 3, secondary school 30, primary school 172, kindergarten 3, madrasa 15. Noted educational institutions: Paniunda Ragib-Rabeya High School and College, Nabiganj JK High School (1916), Dinarpur High School (1921), Auskandi High School.

Newspapers and periodicals Daily Bibiyana.

Cultural organisations Library 3, club 15, theatre group 1, literary society 11, women's organisation 7, cinema hall 1, auditorium 1, community centre 2, cultural group 2, playground 5.

Tourists spots Bibiyana Gas Field.

Main sources of income Agriculture 63.31%, non-agricultural labourer 5.40%, industry 2.21%, commerce 8.83%, transport and communication 1.42%, service 2.95%, construction 1.98%, religious service 0.63%, rent and remittance 3.84% and others 9.43%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 42.59%, landless 57.41%; agricultural landowner: urban 34.69% and rural 43.33%.'

Main crops Paddy, potato, jute, mustard, chilli, tea.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Linseed, sesame, sweet potato.

Main fruits Mango, blackberry, jackfruit, papaya, coconut, banana, pineapple.'

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 20, dairy 10, poultry 68, hatchery 1.

Communication facilities Pucca road 156 km, semi-pucca road 46 km, mud road 521 km.

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

Noted manufactories Rice mill, saw mill, biscuit factory, dry fish processing factory.

Cottage industries Goldsmith, blacksmith, potteries, bamboo work, cane work.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 33, fairs 4, most noted of which are Nabiganj Bazar, Enayetganj Bazar, Raisganj Bazar, Haydarganj Bazar or Goplar Bazar, Imamganj Bazar, Inathganj Bazar, Tongitila' Mela, Shah Nur Mazar Mela, Baruni Mela at Sadarghat and Baruni Mela at Alampur.

Main exports Paddy, fish, banana.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 45.9% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Natural resources Natural Gas.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 80.7%, tap 1.1% and others 18.2%.

Sanitation 50.4% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 43.8% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 5.8% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, union health and family welfare centre 5, family planning centre 3, mother and child welfare centre 2, maternity 2, charitable dispensary 2, satellite clinic 6, diagnostic centre 3, veterinary hospital 1.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are CARE, brac, asa. [Kazi M Hasan Ali]

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