Naria Upazila

Naria Upazila (shariatpur district) area 240.02 sq km, located in between 23°14' and 23°25' north latitudes and in between 90°18' and 90°30' east longitudes. It is bounded by zanjira, lohajang and tongibari upazilas on the north, shariatpur sadar and bhedarganj upazilas on the south, Bhedarganj and munshiganj sadar upazilas on the east, Zanjira upazila on the west.

Population Total 225536; male 111437, female 114099; Muslim 213383, Hindu 12101, Buddhist 24 and others 28.

Water bodies Main rivers: padma, Palong; Naria canal is notable.

Administration Naria Thana was formed in 1930 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	14	146	187	20058	205478	940	52.2	40.2

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
9.49	9	34	20058	2114	52.20

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Kedarpur 63	2453	7958	8466	43.90
Gharisar 50	6527	12179	12180	39.05
Char Atra 31	4970	4111	3828	23.14
Chamta 25	2566	6598	7010	40.08
Japsa 56	2713	7283	6995	39.30
Dinga Manik 37	3542	10039	10878	51.28
Nasasan 82	2081	4937	4671	33.45
Noapara 88	11044	6235	6029	15.42
Fateh Jangapur 44	3950	5915	6501	48.13
Bijhari 18	3188	6656	7269	45.18
Bhumkhara 12	2721	7170	7748	44.97
Bhojeshwar 11	2708	8112	8382	51.72
Muktarer Char 69	3737	7104	7230	31.14
Rajnagar 94	3370	736	6630	33.29

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2001, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

History of the War of Liberation In 1971 many youths of this upazila joined the war of liberation having arms training from India. During this period the freedom fighters raided the Naria Police Station and captured arms and ammunitions. The Pak army sacked and set many settlements of the upazila on fire. Freedom Fighter Abdul Hamid Sardar of Bhojeshwar union of the upazila was killed in an encounter with the Pak army.

Marks of the War of Liberation Martyrs' Memorial 1.

Religious institutions Mosque 575, temple 34, tomb 3, math 1, ashram 2, sacred place 2.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 41.3%; male 44.0%, female 38.8%. Noted educational institutions: Naria Biharilal High School (1919), Pancha Palli GR High School (1927), Bijhari Upashi Tara Prasanna High School (1898), Kartikpur High School (1899), Lansing High School (1899), Mulfatganj Madrasa, Ahmed Nagar Madrasa.

Cultural organisations Library 3, club 15, music academy 1, shishu academy 1, shilpakala academy 1, theatre stage 1, cinema hall 3,' women organisation 4, playground 27.

Main sources of income Agriculture 47.63%, non-agricultural labourer 2.47%, industry 1.44%, commerce 20.23%, transport and communication 3.25%, service 7.59%, construction 1.23%, religious service 0.29%, rent and remittance 6.73% and others 9.14%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 57.04%, landless 42.96%; agricultural landowner: urban 39.68% and rural 58.76%.

Main crops Paddy, jute, wheat, chilli, garlic, onion, coriander.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Kaun, sesame, china.

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, blackberry, date, plum.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 6, poultry 50.

Communication facilities Pucca road 148 km, semi-pucca road 22 km, mud road 407 km; waterway 3 nautical miles.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin.

Noted manufactories Rice mill, ice factory, bidi factory, welding factory.

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

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 22, fairs 8, most noted of which are Bhojeshwar Hat, Gharisar Hat, Mulfatganj Hat, WAPDA Hat.

Main exports Jute, hilsha fish, onion, garlic.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 18.99% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 91.31%, tap 0.53%, pond 3.09% and others 5.07%. The presence of' arsenic has been detected in shallow tube-well water of the upazila.

Sanitation 51.68% (rural 16.43% and urban 85.67%) of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 41.37% (rural 9.12% and urban 44.56%) of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 6.95% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, union health and family welfare centre 14, charitable hospital 4, family planning centre 9, community clinic 11, child and maternity 1.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, proshika, asa, Naria Unnayan Samity, Madaripur Legal Aid Association. [Motiur Rahman]

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