Bhairab Upazila

Bhairab Upazila (kishoreganj district) area 139.32 sq km, located in between 21°11' and 24°02' north latitudes and in between 90°54' and 91°02' east longitudes. It is bounded by bajitpur upazila on the north, raipura and brahmanbaria sadar upazilas on the south, sarail upazila on the east, kuliarchar and belabo upazilas on the west.

Population Total 298309; male 146929, female 151380; Muslim 286457, Hindu 11815, Buddhist 4, Christian and others 32.

Water bodies Main rivers: old brahmaputra and meghna.

Administration Bhairab Thana was formed in 1906 and it was turned into an upazila in 1983. Bhairab municipality was established in 1958.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
1	7	27	84	118992	179317	2141	53.6	35.1

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
15.71	12	29	118992	7574	53.6

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Aganagar 21	6331	15142	15892	29.6
Kalika Prasad 47	3241	15867	16313	32.9
Gazaria 35	6188	12376	14104	31.1
Shibpur 71	1669	12336	12957	38.3
Shimulkandi 85	2866	14709	15666	41.1
Sreenagar	2094	10124	10953	40.1
Sadakpur 59	3810	6091	6787	32.9

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Neelkuthi (Shimulkandi), Imambari (Shimulkandi), Jagabandhu Bhaban at village Gazaria, Titumia Bhaban, magnificient building of Rabin Saha at Bhairab Bazar.

War of Liberation On 15 April 1971 the Pak army killed about 400 innocent civilians, including 250 of village Ibrahimpur, of the upazila. Besides, they also killed many people inside the Manikdi Mosque and at Ashuganj. On 13 December the Pak army destroyed the Bhairab Railway Bridge. Freedom fighters of the upazila carried out operation against Pak army at places like the local electricity tower, the rajakar camp at Kalikaprashad, Nandanpur village and the railway bridge at Bhairab. A memorial sculpture (Durjay Bhairab) was build at Bhairab bus stand and a memorial monument was built at Halgara Kheyaghat of Panaullar Char.

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

Religious institutions Mosque 208, temple 7, tomb 13, akhra 2. Noted religious institutions: Siddikchar Jami Mosque, Tiyarir Char Jami Mosque, Aganagar Jami Mosque, Shimulkandi Jami Mosque, Shambhupur Jami Mosque, Manikdi Jami Mosque, Kalika Prasad Munsi Bari Jami Mosque, Kalibari Matree Mandir, Gopal Jeor Mandir, Austami Snan Ghat (sacred bathing) of Kalika Prasad.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 42.7%; Male 43.4%, female 42.0%. Educational institutions: college 4, technical school and college 2, secondary school 19, primary school 95, kindergarten 12, madrasa 9. Noted educational institutions: Haji Asmat College (1947), Bhairab Technical School and College (1980), Rafikul Islam Girls' College (1987), KB High School (1919), Bangladesh Railway High School (1954), Sreenagar High School (1961), Bhairab M P Pilot Girls' High School (1962), Kalika Prasad High School (1964), Jagannathpur Puratan Primary School (1995).

Newspapers and periodicals Daily: Ekushey Kagoj; weekly: Niropeksha Arunima, Diner Gan, Ujan Sroot; defunct: weekly: Dishari, Gram Bangla, Mufassalchitra; fortnightly: Bhairab.'

Important installations and tourist spots Bangladesh-British Friendship Bridge, Bhairab Railway Bridge, Botanical Garden on the bank of the river Meghna.

Cultural organisations Library 14, theatre group 4, theatre stage 1, cinema hall 3, voluntary association 65, women's organisation 3, literary society 3.

Main sources of income Agriculture 30.08%, non-agricultural labourer 10.17%, industry 1.51%, commerce 23.54%, transport and communication 3.87%, service 8.86%, construction 1.69%, religious service '0.20%, rent and remittance 2.14% and others 17.94%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 43.34%, landless 56.66%; agricultural landowner: urban' 26.41% and rural 53.40%.

Main crops Paddy, jute, peanut, mustard, sugarcane, wheat, potato, pulse, sesame, chilli, coriander, ginger, turmeric, vegetables.

Extinct or' nearly extinct crops Karpus.

Main fruits Mango, black berry, guava, banana.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 7, dairy 175, poultry 182, hatchery 1.

Communication facilities Pucca road 237 km, semi-pucca road 11 km, mud road 156 km; waterways 10 km; railways 12.27 km.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin.

Noted manufactories Jute mill, rice mill, threshed rice (chira) mill, steel mill, biscuit factory, soap factory, bidi factory, re-rolling industries, silicate industries, welding factory.

Cottage industries Goldsmith, weaving, blacksmith, potteries, embroidery, bamboo work, cane work.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 40, fairs 3, most noted of which are Bhairab Bazar, Shimulkandi Bazar, Chawk Bazar, Siddik Bazar.

Main exports Fish, bidi, biscuit, lungi, gamchha.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 86.0% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 94.7%, tap 3.2% and others 2.1%. The presence of arsenic has been detected 29.95% shallow tube-well water in this upazila.

Sanitation 55.0% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 37.4% of dwelling houses use non-sanitary latrines; 7.6% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Heath centres Upazila health complex 1, health and family welfare centre 5, railway hospital 1, satellite clinic 2, community clinic 7, clinic 6.

Natural disasters The floods of 1974, 1988, 1998 and 2004 caused heavy loss of life and damage to settlements, livestock, crops and other properties of the upazila.

NGO activities brac, proshika, asa, Global Village, Need, RDA. [Sharif Ahmed]

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