Balaganj Upazila

Balaganj Upazila (sylhet district) area 375.75 sq km, located in between 24°36' and 24°47' north latitudes and in between 91°38' and 91°56' east longitudes. It is bounded by dakshin surma and bishwanath upazilas on the north, rajnagar and maulvibazar sadar upazilas on the south, fenchuganj upazila on the east, Bishwanath, jagannathpur and nabiganj upazilas on the west.

Population Total 320227; male 157975, female 162252; Muslim 292256, Hindu 27832, Buddhist 4, Christian 5 and others 130.

Water bodies Main river: kushiyara; Haila beel, Chepti beel, Kery beel, Karcha beel, Majail beel, Dhalai beel, Dhuburia beel and Beghati beel are notable.

Administration Balaganj Thana was formed on 10 January 1922 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
-	14	240	473	7811	312416	852	61.0	50.0

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
4.41	2	7811	1771	61.0

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Omarpur 51	7849	12074	12048	49.8
Osmanpur 55	7615	14324	14799	51.6
Goula Bazar 40	4564	12788	12373	55.4
Tajpur 88	5421	14488	14512	50.2
Dayamir 27	7990	15384	15937	53.2
Dewan Bazar 33	11099	15709	16426	46.3
Paschim Gauripur 60	6189	6773	7140	50.1
Paschim Pailanpur 64	5163	7051	7055	47.2
Purba Gauripur 70	6742	7702	8438	54.5
Purba Pailanpur 67	5092	5613	6056	34.4
Balaganj 06	5921	13573	13932	59.1
Burunga 20	4584	8568	8603	48.9
Boaljur Bazar 13	5272	8587	8924	49.3
Sadipur 81	9350	15341	16009	44.7

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Akhra of Gauranga Mahaprabhu, remnants of Nagendra Das Chowdhury's residence, Temple of Chandranath Sharma (Babnobazar).

War of Liberation During the war of liberation in 1971 the Pak army brutally killed many people of the upazila; they also plundered and set many houses on fire. On 6 May the Pak army conducted mass killing at Ilashpur and they also killed 36 persons at Adatyapur. There were two fierce encounters between the Pak army and the freedom fighters at Sherpur and Sadipur and in both the battles the Pak army was defeated. There are mass graves at 4 places (Adittapur, Burunga, Bhatpara and Salimpur) of the upazila; a memorial monument (Balaganj central shahid minar) has been built.

For details: see বালাগঞ্জ উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ৭।

Religious institutions Mosque 440, temple 6. Noted religious institutions: Osmanpur Jami Mosque, Baitul Moazzem Jami Mosque (Goalabazar), Harinagar Shiva Temple, Nishikantadev Brahmachari Temple, tombs of Shah Tazuddin, Fakir Kanai Shah, Katali Shah (Sherpur), Sayed Usman Bogdadi (R), Narain Shah.'

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 50.2%; male 51.2%, female 49.3%. Educational institutions: college 5, secondary school 25, primary school 143, community school 27, madrasa 20. Noted educational institutions: Sharat Sunduri High School (1886), Mangal Chandi Nishikanta High School (1887), Nabagram Hazi Md. Saim High School (1928), Sadrunnesa High School (1929).

Newspapers and periodicals Weekly: Balaganj Barta.

Cultural organisations Library 1, club 27, auditorium 1.

Tourist spot' Paternal home of Bangabir MAG Osmani at Dayamir.

Main sources of income Agriculture 49.61%, non-agricultural labourer 5.10%, commerce 11.09%, transport and communication 2.93%, industry 0.59%, service 4.23%, construction 1.61%, religious service 0.56%, rent and remittance 11.52% and others 12.76%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 42.34%, landless 57.66%; agricultural landowner: urban 37.19% and rural 42.47%.

Main crops Paddy, mustard seed, potato.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Tobacco, mashkalai.

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, coconut.

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

Communication facilities Roads: pucca road 220 km, semi-pucca road 13 km, mud road 476 km; waterway 5 km.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin.

Cottage industries Nakshi pati, Shital pati, bamboo work, cane work.

Noted Hats, bazars and fairs Balaganj Bazar, Goala Bazar, Tajpur Bazar, Dayamir Bazar, Khaler Mukh Hat and Ghior Khal Mela.

Main exports Nakshi Pati, fish.

Access to electricity All the unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 57.9% dwellings have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 68.6%, tap 2.1% and others 29.3%. The presence of intolerable level of arsenic has been detected in the tube well water of the upazila.

Sanitation 60.7% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 35.6% of dwelling houses use non-sanitary latrines; 3.7% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health centre 1, satellite clinic 2, union health and family welfare centre 6, family planning centre 7, community clinic 23, private clinic 8, veterinary hospital 4.

NGO activities brac, CARE. [Mahiuddin Shiru]

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