Char Fasson Upazila

Char Fasson Upazila (bhola district) area 1106.31 sq km, located in between 21°54' and 22°16' north latitudes and in between 90°34' and 90°50' east longitudes. It is bounded by lalmohan upazila on the north, bay of bengal on the south, manpura upazila, Shahbazpur Channel and Bay of Bengal on the east, dashmina and galachipa upazilas on the west. There are more than 100 chars in the upazila, most noted of which are Char Kukri Mukri, Dhalchar, Char Manika, Char Aicha, Char Nizam, Char Newton.

Population Total 456437; male 228693, female 227744 (Census 2011); Muslim 403043, Hindu 10505, Buddhist 10, Christian 15 and others 20 (Census 2001).

Water bodies Main rivers: tentulia, Batua; Sagar Mohana and Betua Canal are notable.

Administration Char Fasson Thana, now an upazila, was formed in 1970.

Upazila
Municipality Union Mouza Village Population Density (per sq km) Literacy rate (%)
Urban Rural Urban Rural
1 19 68 77 42915 413522 413 56.1 (2001) 41.7
Municipality

Area
(sq km)

Ward

Mahalla

Population

Density
(per sq km)

Literacy rate
(%)

5.95 (2001) 9 9 19595 2648 (2001) 75.4
Upazila Town

Area
(sq km)

Mouza

Population

Density
(per sq km)

Literacy rate
(%)

25.71 (2001) 3 23320 928 (2001) 45.6
Union
Name of union and GO code Area (acre) Population Literacy rate (%)
Male Female
Abdullapur 13 7865 9053 9509 43.9
Abu Bakarpur 11 10108 6032 6270 56.7
Aminabad 15 6145 8529 8932 64.9
Aslampur 19 8284 17731 17953 53.7
Adhakha Nazrul Nagar 14 17635 10324 10533 29.9
Osmanganj 95 7122 11442 11435 56.2
Ewajpur 53 5736 10345 10585 50.6
Char Kukri Mukri 70 20383 4274 4088 28.9
Char Manika 47 10136 16125 15331 36.0
Char Madras 38 11144 16676 16553 43.4
Char Kalmi 28 8443 9588 9831 36.9
Jahanpur 63 4533 10123 10361 35.0
Jinnaghar 66 7232 11685 11635 45.6
Dhal Char 51 5182 3915 3521 44.8
Nilkamal 76 6965 15898 16444 32.1
Nurabad 85 8830 20041 19692 31.5
Mujib Nagar 73 6437 5454 4950 22.1
Rasulpur 88 12715 15923 15665 41.1
Hazariganj 57 7327 15413 14983 42.1

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

War of Liberation During the War of Liberation in 1971 an encounter was held between the freedom fighters and the Pak army at a place in between Aminabad and Osmanganj in which 11 freedom fighters were killed or wounded.

For details: see চরফ্যাশন উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ৩।

Religious institutions Mosque 601, temple 5.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 43.5%; male 43.1%, female 43.8%. Noted educational institutions: Char Fasson Higher Secondary School (1968), Fatema Matin Mahila College (1993), Char Fasson Tafnal Barret (T.B) Secondary School (1932), Char Fasson Girls' Secondary School (1968), Char Fasson Chairman Haidar (Model) Primary School (1932), Char Fasson Kara Matiya Kamil Madrasa (1945).'

Newspapers and periodicals Weekly: Fasson Barta (Defunct), Upakul Barta, Pratham Akash.

Cultural organisations Library 1, club 15, cinema hall 6, theatre group 4, stadium 1.

Main sources of income Agriculture 68.09%, non-agricultural labourer 4.81%, industry 0.23%, commerce 10.44%, transport and communication 1.96%, service 4.45%, construction 1.08%, religious service 0.34%, rent and remittance 0.29% and others 8.31%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 50.69%, landless 49.31%; agricultural landowner: urban 53.98% and rural 50.35%.

Main crops Paddy, wheat, chilli, pulse, ground-nut, betel nut.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Jute, sesame, linseed.

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, papaya, banana, betel nut, watermelon.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries This upazila has a number of fisheries, dairies, poultries and hatcheries.

Communication facilities Roads: pucca 306 km, semi-pucca 16 km, mud road 430 km; waterway 46 km.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin, bullock cart.

Cottage industries Weaving, goldsmith, potteries, blacksmith, wood work, cane work.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats, bazars and fairs are 58, most noted of which are Char Fasson Hat, Dular Hat, Goldar Hat, Letraganj Bazar, Chairman Hat, Shashi Bhusan Hat, Babur Hat and Baishakhi Mela.

Main exports Paddy, chilli, pulse, ground-nut, betel nut, hilsa fish and shrimp.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 18.7% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 93.3%, tap 0.3% and others 6.4%.

Sanitation 49.5% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 41.9% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 8.6% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Hospital 2, upazila health complex 1, family welfare centre 1, rural health centre 10, veterinary hospital 1.

Natural disasters Thousands of people of the upazila were killed in a devastating tidal bore in 1970.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are Coast Trust, brac, asa, and Action Aid. [Md Harun Rashid Helali]

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