Austagram Upazila

Austagram Upazila (kishoreganj district) area 355.53 sq km, located in between 24°13' and 24°27' north latitudes and in between 90°59' and 90°15' east longitudes. It is bounded by mithamain upazila on the north, nasirnagar upazila on the south, lakhai upazila on the east, bajitpur upazila on the west.

Population Total 152523; male 75265, female 77258; Muslim 132000, Hindu 20494, Christian 9 and others 20.

Water bodies Main rivers: meghna, barak, Kalni, Ghorautra; noted beels: Padma, Topa, Bandra, Chamil, Mamda, Matihata, Dhopa, Mojana, Balian and Monkhola beel.

Administration Austagram Thana was formed in 1905 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
- 8 61 72 17400 135123 429 36.1 31.5
Upazila Town

Area (sq km)

Mouza

Population

Density (per sq km)

Literacy rate (%)

2.15 1 17400 8093 36.1
Union
Name of union and GO code Area (acre) Papulation Literacy rate (%)
Male Female
Adampur 11 9386 11880 12302 32.9
Austagram 23 8791 9935 10449 35.6
Kalma 59 8286 5403 5713 36.5
Kastail 71 10689 7366 7663 26.1
Khayerpur Abdullahpur 83 15397 15427 15409 27.8
Deoghar 47 11773 9379 9742 30.6
East Austagram 91 3359 7847 8034 37.3
Bangal Para 35 6559 8028 7946 32.8

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Stone Mosque (c. 1446, Kastail), Kutub Mosque (c. 16 century).

War of Liberation On 3 September 1971 the Pak army, in collaboration with the rajakars brutally killed 35 members of the Hindu community at village Ikardia. On 5 September they also killed 25 members of the Hindu community at village Savianagar. Freedom fighters had encounters with Pakistani soldiers in the upazila on 3 occasions.

For details: see অষ্টগ্রাম উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ১।

Religious institutions Mosque 82, temple 13, tomb 12, Akhra 21.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 32.0%; male 34.0% female 30.1%.

Newspapers and Periodicals Magazines: Shubechha, Surjatopa and Anirban.

Cultural organizations Library 1,' officers' club 1, playground 30.

Main sources of income Agriculture 82.40%, non-agricultural labourer 2.52%, industry 0.27%, commerce 7.52%, transport and communication 0.29%, service 1.91%, construction 0.31%, religious service 0.24%, rent and remittance 0.04% and others 4.50%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 66.18%, landless 33.82%; ownership of agricultural land: urban 56.38% urban 67.51%.

Main crops Paddy, potato, mustard,' peanut, garlic, onion, chilli, turmeric, coriander.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Jute.

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, banana, blackberry, papaya.

Communication facilities Roads: pucca road 25 km, semi-pucca road 15 km and mud road 268 km; waterway 23.814 km.

Extinct or nearly extinct Traditional transport palanquin, horse carriage and bullock cart.

Hats, bazars and fairs The most noted hats and bazars are Austagram, Purbo Austagram, Sharifanagar, Kastail, Bangal Para, Adampur, Kalma, Khayerpur Abdullahpur and Chhaudamadal Mela at Bangal Para (largest mela of the bhati region).

Main exports Paddy, potato, peanut, banana, papaya.

Access to electricity All the unions of this Upazila are under electricity net-work; however, 43.7% dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 92.8%, tap 0.1% and others 7.1%.

Sanitation 37.1% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 54.4% of dwelling houses use non-sanitary latrines; 8.5% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, union health and family planning centre 7, rural health centre 1.

NGO activities brac, proshika, ICDC, Ganaunnyan, Bandhon Society, Chetana. [Enayet Sobhan]

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