Rajoir Upazila

Rajoir Upazila (madaripur district) area 229.27 sq km, located in between 23°06' and 23°20' north latitudes and in between 89°56' and 90°06' east longitudes. It is bounded by bhanga upazila on the north, kotalipara and gopalganj sadar upazilas on the south, madaripur sadar and shibchar upazilas on the east, muksudpur and Gopalganj Sadar upazilas on the west.

Population Total 228710; male 113031, female 115679; Muslim 155442, Hindu 72509, Buddhist 8, Christian 745 and others 6.

Water bodies Main river: kumar; Madaripur Beel Route Canal, Chandar Beel and Bagier Beel are notable.

Administration Rajoir Thana, now an upazila, was formed in 1914.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
-	11	95	187	21401	207309	998	54.8	47.5

Upazila Town
Area (sq km)	Mouza	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
8.79	1	21401	2435	54.8

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Amgram 13	8994	13540	13007	45.2
Isibpur 47	4464	8469	9717	50.0
Kadambari 66	10224	13122	12685	55.1
Kabirajpur 57	3237	6816	7396	44.2
Khalia 76	5484	17524	17462	52.3
Paik Para 85	3990	9345	10407	39.0
Badar Pasha 19	5878	12252	12849	46.5
Bajitpur 28	5207	10268	9824	42.9
Rajoir 95	4082	12193	11926	53.9
Haridasdi Mahendradi 31	2311	3754	4212	49.4
Hossainpur 38	2785	5748	6194	45.4

Source Bangladesh Population Census 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Sarmangal Mosque, Annapurna Mandir (1765), Khalia Rajaram Mandir (1825), temple of Ganesh Pagal, Patitapaban Sebasrama Mandir, Pranab Math (Bajitpur).

Historical events Ambikacharan Majumdar of village Sendia in Rajoir upazila formed the first political party of East Bengal in 1881called ‘Faridpur Peoples Association’. In 1918 he established the Faridpur Rajendra College.

War of Liberation During the war of liberation the Pak army brutally killed 50 villagers of Sendia. They also conducted mass killing, rapes, plundering and set many houses of different villages on fire. Freedom fighters had many encounters with the Pak army in the upazila including at Hajikhan, Bara bridge, Takerhat, Rajoir Police Station, Pakulya, Amgram and Boilgram.

For details: see রাজৈর উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ৯।

Religious institutions Mosque 370, temple 29, church 2, pagoda 5, tomb 2. Noted religious institutions: Sarmangal Mosque, Kadampur Mosque, Annapunna Mandir (1765), Khalia Rajaram Mandir (1825), temple of Ganesh Pagal, Patitpaban Sebaashrama Mandir, tomb of Syed Ameer Ali, Kamlapur Narauttam Asharama, Pranab Math (Bajitpur).

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 48.2%; male 50.9%, female 45.6%. Educational institutions: college 6, secondary school 29, primary school 128, kindergarten 6, madrasa 13. Noted educational institutions: Rajoir Degree College (1970), Kadambari Union College (1990), Sheikh Rasel College, Khalia Rajaram Institution (1900), Rajkumar Edward Institution (1902), Amgram High School (1917), Rajoir-Gopalganj Kapali Jubosangho High School (1929), Isibpur High School, Kadambari High School (1942), Aruakandi-Natakhola-Barakhola High School (1963), Haridasdi Mahendradi High School (1965),' Sankherpar High School (1968), Kashimpur Meher Ali High School (1968), Rajoir Girls High School (1968), Tekerhat Popular High School (1970), Hassankandi High School (1971), Chatushpalli High School (1973), Sheed Sardar Shahjahan Girls High School (1986).

Cultural organisations Library 8, club 45, child organization 2, theater group 2, cinema hall 4, women organisation 3, playground 21.

Special attractions Tekerhat Port, Pranab Math (Bajitpur), Kamlapur Narauttam Ashrama.

Newspapers and periodicals Kisholoy (Defunct).

Main sources of income Agriculture 60.68%, non-agricultural labourer 2.33%, industry 1.04%, commerce 19.55%, transport and communication 1.82%, service 4.09%, construction 2.65%, religious service 0.22%, rent and remittance 0.96% and others 6.66%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 69.01%, landless 30.99%; agricultural landowner: urban 48.93% and rural 71.04%.

Main crops Paddy, wheat, jute, sweet potato, sugarcane, pulse, mustard, sesame.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Kaun, china, barley.

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, blackberry, star apple, sapodilla, banana, papaya, litchi, date.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries Fishery 31, dairy 2, poultry 155, hatchery 1.

Communication facilities Pucca road 138 km, semi-pucca road 51 km, mud road 146 km; waterway 22 km.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin, duli.

Noted manufactories Rice mill, jute mill, yarn mill, welding factory, aluminium factory, ice factory, bronze ornaments factory.

Cottage industries Blacksmith, potteries, weaving, brass and bell-metal work, ghani (oil mill).

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 22, fairs 8, most noted of which are Rajoir Hat, Amgram Hat, Kadambari Hat, Isibpur Hat, Bajitpur Hat, Kabirajpur Hat, Khalia Hat, Tekerhat, Sendia and Kadambari Samkranti Mela, Khalia Rath Mela, Bajitpur Maghi-Purnima Mela and Ganesh Pagaler Kumba Mela at Kadambari.

Main exports Jute, date molasses, sesame, mustard oil.

Access to electricity All the unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 68.4% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Natural resources Pit coal.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 95.5%, tap 0.3% and others 4.2%.

Sanitation 69.8% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 28.6% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 1.6% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Hospital 1, upazila health centre 6, family planning centre 10, clinic 3.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are Village Development Organisation. [Kalyani Rani Chakrabarty]

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