Parshuram Upazila

Parshuram Upazila (feni district) area 95.76 sq km, located in between 23°10' and 23°17' north latitudes and in between 91°23' and 91°31' east longitudes. It is bounded by tripura state of India on the north, east and west, phulgazi upazila on the south.

Population Total 101062; male 47981, female 53081; Muslim 96872, Hindu 4175, Buddhist 5, Christian 2 and others 8.

Water bodies Main rivers: Silonia, Kahua, muhuri.

Administration Parshuram Thana was formed on 7 May 1879 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
-	3	67	71	29691	71371	1055	59.1	58.6

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
22.38	9	15	29691	1327	59.1

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Chithalia 23	6117	11936	13351	58.7
Baksh Mohammad 40	5913	11000	12459	54.3
Mirzanagar 47	6101	10589	12036	62.9

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Dighi of Shamser Gazi at village Satkuchia.

Historical events During the World War II a runway was built in this upazila for landing of aircrafts of the allied forces.

War of Liberation On 7 November 1971 a battle was fought between the freedom fighters and the Pak army at the Bilonia BOP (Border Outpost) in which many Pakistani soldiers and three freedom fighters were killed. On the same day the freedom fighters killed a number of Pakistani soldiers in an encounter when the Pak army was in a move to restore their control over the Chithalia Base. In this encounter the freedom fighters captured a sizeable amount of arms and ammunitions of the Pak army.

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

Religious institutions Mosque 224, temple 5, tomb 5.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 58.8%; male 60.1%, female 57.5%. Educational institutions: college 5, secondary school 32, primary school 125, madrasa 20. Noted educational institutions: Parshuram Government College (1972), Khandal Multilateral High School and College (1934), Subar Bazar Madrasa (1934).

Newspapers and periodicals Monthly: Sampriti, Jharapata (irregular); quaterly: Dhansiri.

Cultural organisations Library 5, club 15, cinema hall 1.

Important installations Bilonia Railway Station, Customs House, Bilonia Look Out Tower.

Main sources of income Agriculture 48.32%, non-agricultural labourer 2.64%, industry 0.65%, commerce 11.81%, transport and communication 3.25%, service 14.56%, construction 1.16%, religious service 0.29%, rent and remittance 7.92% and others 9.40%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 64.79%, landless 35.21%; agricultural landowner: urban 53% and rural 65.69%.

Main crops Paddy, sugarcane, spring harvest.

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, coconut, blackberry, pineapple.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 10, poultry 8, hatchery 2.

Communication facilities Pucca road 167 km, semi-pucca road 4 km, mud road 224 km.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin, horse carriage.

Cottage industries Goldsmith, potteries, wood work, bamboo work.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 11, fairs 2, most noted of which are Parshuram Hat, Suba Bazar, Battali Bazar and Saldhar Bazar.

Main exports Paddy.

Access to electricity All the unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 63.0% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 95.9%, tap 0.8% and others 3.3%.

Sanitation 69.2% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 29.9% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 0.9% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, satellite clinic 3, family planning centre 5, community clinic 14.

Natural disasters The floods of 1988 and 1998 caused heavy damages to settlements, crops and other properties of the upazila.'

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, asa. [Mohammad Yakub]

References Bangladesh Population Census 2001 and 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics; Cultural survey report of Parshuram Upazila 2007.