Nakla Upazila

Nakla Upazila (sherpur district) area 174.80 sq km, located in between 24°53' and 25°02' north latitudes and in between 90°07' and 90°15' east longitudes. It is bounded by nalitabari upazila on the north, jamalpur sadar and mymensingh sadar upazilas on the south, phulpur and haluaghat upazilas on the east, sherpur sadar upazila on the west.

Population Total 179422; male 92423, female 86999; Muslim 175694, Hindu 3600, Buddhist 16 and others 112.

Water bodies Main rivers: old brahmaputra, kangsa; Karsha Beel, Bairkandi Beel, Barabila Beel are notable.

Administration Nakla Thana, now an upazila, was formed in 1930.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
-	9	88	117	9578	169844	1026	60.94	37.22

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
4.60	3	9578	2082	60.94

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Urpha 85	4850	10398	9641	34.31
Kursa Badagair 47	4763	13740	12875	50.50
Ganapaddi 38	5017	11974	11205	32.39
Chandrakona 19	5096	10356	9536	38.93
Char Ashtadhar 28	5476	8849	8630	38.55
Talki 76	3589	7623	7136	42.01
Nakla 57	5225	9648	8861	32.00
Pathakata 66	4321	9388	9042	39.76
Baneshwardi 09	4518	10447	10073	35.61

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2001, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Kalapara Mosque (18th century).

History of the War of Liberation In 1971 battles between the Freedom Fighters and Pakistan army were fought in different places of Narayankhola, Gauraddar, Boroitar and Chandrakona. In these battles 20 freedom fighters were killed. Nakla upazila was liberated on 9 December.

Religious institutions Mosque 218, temple 4, church 1, tomb 3. Noted religious institutions: Kalapara Mosque, Nakla Bazar Bara Jami Mosque, Upazila Parishad Mosque, Nakla Bazar Mandir.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 38.53%; male 41.30%, female 35.62%. Educational institutions: college 4, technical college 1, secondary school 33, primary school 97, madrasa 18. Noted educational institutions: Nakla Haji Jal Mamud College (1972), Chowdhury Sabrunnessa Mahila Degree College (1994), Chandrakona Rajlaxmi High School (1919), Afzalussena Girls' High School (1922), Nakla Pilot High School (1947), Nakla Pilot Girls' High School (1964), Pachkahunia Senior Madrasa (1931).

Cultural organisations Library 3, club 27, cinema hall 1, women's organisation 30, lalitakala academy 1, playground 12.

Main sources of income Agriculture 69.40%, non-agricultural labourer 3.48%, industry 0.98%, commerce 10.67%, transport and communication 3.19%, service 3.86%, construction 0.89%, religious service 0.11%, rent and remittance 0.19% and others 7.23%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 60.77%, landless 39.23%; agricultural landowner: urban 50.44% and rural 61.30%.'

Main crops Paddy, jute, sugarcane, wheat, maize, pulse, onion, garlic, turmeric, vegetables.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Local varieties of paddy, sesame, sweet potato, arahar.

Main fruits Mango, blackberry, banana, jackfruit, litchi, papaya, plum, guava.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 6, dairy 39, poultry 35, hatchery 2.

Communication facilities Pucca road 110 km, mud road 250 km.

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

Noted manufactories Flour mill, rice mill, chira mill, saw mill, oil mill, ice factory, welding factory.

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

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 26, fairs 3, most noted of which are Nakla, Chandrakona and Narayankhola hats.

Main exports Sugarcane molasses, banana, onion, garlic, turmeric.

Access to electricity All the unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 5.82% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 92.74%, tap 0.29%, pond 0.09% and others 6.88%. The presence of arsenic has been detected in shallow tube-well water of the upazila.

Sanitation 31.15% (rural 29.08% and urban 71.14%) of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 34.91% (rural 36.12% and urban 11.42%) of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 33.94% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, satellite clinic 1, family planning centre 9, clinic 2.

Natural disasters The devastating cyclones of 1584, 1822, 1960 and 1970 and the flood of 1876 caused huge loss of life and damages to settlements, livestock and other properties of the upazila.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, asa, CIDA. [Muhammad Harunur Rashid]

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