Galachipa Upazila

Galachipa Upazila (patuakhali district) area 924.68 sq km, located in between 21°48' and 22°21' north latitudes and in between 90°15' and 90°37' east longitudes. It is bounded by patuakhali sadar, bauphal and dashmina upazilas on the north, bay of bengal and rangabali upazila on the south, Dashmina and char fasson upazilas on the east,' amtali and kalapara upazilas on the west.

Population Total 258515; male 127249, female 131266; Muslim 237277, Hindu 21201, Buddhist 19, Christian 16 and others 2. Indigenous community such as rakhain belongs to this upazila.

Water bodies Main rivers: tentulia, Galachipa;' Rabnabad Channel is notable.

Administration Galachipa Thana was formed in 1873 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
1	12	92	133	25917	232598	280	62.7 (2001)	43.4

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
3.39 (2001)	9	9	21200	5110 (2001)	71.5

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
5.13 (2001)	2	4717	109 (2001)	63.0

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Amkhola 11	11673	13172	14006	44.9
Kalagachhia 75	6884	7696	8384	49.4
Gazalia 69	10759	5897	6699	49.4
Galachipa 67	11433	9490	9553	45.1
Golkhali 72	16730	15720	16449	45.6
Char Kajal 39	25159	12754	12518	30.4
Char Biswas 37	9408	10196	9959	41.0
Chiknikandi 50	12187	7484	8094	57.1
Dakua 55	8017	9689	9842	45.2
Panpatty 78	7185	7211	7683	40.3
Bakulbaria 22	12792	7141	7593	50.3
Ratandi Taltali 94	7396	9911	10174	49.1

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

Archaeological heritage and relics  Sutabaria Dayamayee Mandir (1208), Single Domed Gurinda Mosque at Ratandi (18th century).

Historical Events A group of people forcefully evicted from the Rakhine territory by the Burmese King was settled at Rangabali island of Galachipa upazila in 1784 and ever since they became permanent residents there.

War of Liberation The Pak army raided the villages Chikani Kandi and Dakua on 8 May 1971 and killed 29 villagers and sacked many houses. On 18 November ,three Pakistani soldiers were killed in a skirmish between the Pak army and the freedom fighters at village Panpatti. Two memorial monuments had been built in the upazila.

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

Religious institutions Mosque 1001, temple 50, buddist temple 10, pagoda 1, tomb 3. Noted religious institutions: Single Domed Gurinda Mosque at Ratandi (18th century), Talukdar Bari Mosque at Bashbaria (20th century), Lamna Shikdar Bari Mosque, Sutabaria Dayamayee Mandir (1208), Kacharibari Mandir, Kalyankalas Kalibari Mandir.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 45.4%; male 47.2%, female 43.7%. Educational institutions: college 7, secondary school 53, primary school 230, satellite school 14, community school 9, madrasa 8. Noted educational institutions: Galachipa Degree College (1972), Galachipa Mahila College (1995), Patbunia Adarsha Technical College (1996), Ulania Hat School and College (1995), SM Sikandar Ali Chowdhury Degree College (1994), Chiknikandi Secondary School (1930), Galachipa Secondary School (1932), Patbunia Secondary School (1967), Kharijjama Secondary School (1966), Lamna Salehia Senior Fazil Madrasa (1935).

Cultural organisations Library 1, club 22, press club 1, theatre group 2, jatra party 1, cinema hall 6, playground 52.

Tourist spots Sunrise and sunset can enjoyed from Sonar Char of this upazila. Kalaraja, the capital of the queen Kamala of Chandradwip and Rabnabad Channel and Rangabali Channel are also notable.

Main sources of income Agriculture 68.18%, non-agricultural labourer 5.41%, industry 0.40%, commerce 11.53%, transport and communication 1.19%, service 4.22%, construction 1.23%, religious service 0.25%, rent and remittance 0.18% and others 7.41%.

Main crops Paddy, pulse, betel nut, peanut, chilli, vegetables.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Sesame, mustard, kaun, boro paddy, sakshar-kora paddy.

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, papaya.

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

Communication facilities Pucca road 130 km, semi-pucca road 120 km, mud road 1227 km; waterway 1900 km.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin, bullock cart.

Noted manufactories Rice mill, saw mill, ice factory, welding factory.

Cottage industries Weaving, goldsmith, blacksmith, tailoring, wood work.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 51, fair 1, most noted of which are Galachipa Bazar, Kalagachhia Hat, Ulania Hat, Baherchar Hat, Sutabaria Dayamayee Mela.

Main exports Paddy, fish, peanut, chilli, betel but.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 22.9% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 97.3%, tap 0.8%, and others 1.9%.

Sanitation 62.4% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 29.9% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 7.7% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health complex 1, satellite clinic 4, non-government health centre 1, family planning centre 10.

Natural disasters The devastating cyclones of 1584, 1960 and 1970 and the flood of 1876 caused huge loss of life and damages to settlements, livestock and other properties of the upazila.

NGO activities asa, SCI, CODEC, brac, Urban, SAP-Bangladesh, BAOPA, CEP BARD, CHDP. [Sankar Lal Das]

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